Naming It

4 Responses to Naming It

1. Michael says:

   May 13, 2004 at 4:22 pm

   This reminds me of a story scientist Richard Feynman told:

   [A]s a child, he was puzzled by a ball in his wagon that rolled to the back when he pulled the wagon, but rolled to the front when he stopped.

   His father explained it’s “called inertia but nobody knows why it’s true”.

   In the interview I saw, after Feynman told the story, he said (I’m sure I’m paraphrasing), The most important thing was that he said “Nobody knows.” He taught me that naming something wasn’t the same thing as explaining it.

   This isn’t to contradict your quote. I’m sure Chudnovsky and Feynman would agree on both observations.
2. David Foster says:

   May 13, 2004 at 11:30 pm

   “Naming something isn’t the same as explaining it.” A profound and important point, and one that many people never grasp.

   And interestingly, it seems that the more education people have, the more likely they are to fall into the naming-equals-explanation fallacy.
3. Ron says:

   May 14, 2004 at 12:16 am

   I dunno if I agree with that quote. I tend to think of mathematics as invented. Granted its often invented in a way that helps describe reality, but abstract mathematical objects don’t exist until someone comes up with them.
4. red says:

   May 14, 2004 at 9:56 am

   Michael: wow.

   No wonder that so many of science’s greatest innovations are brought about by amateurs. Or people on the fringe – perhaps they are more willing to say “Nobody knows why this is” than people in the scientific establishment.

   Hmmmm…

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