[FOM] Concerning Ultrafinitism

Thomas Forster T.Forster at dpmms.cam.ac.uk
Sat Nov 4 15:15:49 EST 2006



I've often thought that Borges was a mathematician manqu\'e.  He even has 
his own version of the Liar Paradox.

  "In Sumatra, someone wishes to receive a doctorate in Prophecy.  The 
master seer who administers his exam asks if he will fail or pass.  The 
candidate replies that he will fail.."

   Review of Kasner & Newman *Mathematics and the Imagination* (1940)

   Can anyone in this list tell us how much Mathematics Borges actually 
knew?

On Fri, 3 Nov 
2006, Mirco Mannucci wrote:

> 
> --Hay un concepto que es el corruptor y el desatinador de los otros. No
> hablo del Mal, cuyo limitado imperio es la Etica; hablo del infinito--
> 
> (There is a concept which corrupts and upsets all others. I refer not to
> Evil,whose limited realm is that of Ethics; I refer to the infinite)
> 
> Jorge Luis Borges
> 

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