On Thursday, July 21, 2016 at 1:08:20 AM UTC-6, Gerald Kelleher wrote:
Anything else is assigned to the empirical theorists who are currently running
out of things to say having successfully convinced the wider population that
you need to be a mathematician to understand existence, of course, the price is
that nobody pays attention anymore.

This sort of thing I cannot really find amusing.

As the holder of an M. Sc. degree in Physics, I have taken first-year Calculus,
a second-year course in differential equations, and other mathematical courses,
and I am well aware of the usefulness of certain branches of mathematics -
specifically, those in the area of analysis - in the study and control of the
physical world.

Thus, I _know_ from direct and personal experience that the use of mathematics
by scientists is not an imposture perpetrated on an innocent, trusting, and
gullible populace. The notion, indeed, is ludicrous.

A claim such as this is only possible through ignorance.

And it requires more than just ignorance to say such things as you did.

It requires the attitude that says: "Since I don't understand this, it isn't
because I'm not as smart in some ways as other people, or even because I
haven't taken the time or made the effort to learn about it - no, it must be
all worthless mumbo-jumbo!"

And you should know where that attitude comes from. It comes from the sin of
pride.

John Savard