Some comments on "The Mathematical Universe"
arXiv:0904.0867 · doi:10.1007/s10701-009-9286-9
Abstract
I discuss some problems related to extreme mathematical realism, focusing on a recently proposed "shut-up-and-calculate" approach to physics (arXiv:0704.0646, arXiv:0709.4024). I offer arguments for a moderate alternative, the essence of which lies in the acceptance that mathematics is (at least in part) a human construction, and discuss concrete consequences of this--at first sight purely philosophical--difference in point of view.
11 pages