[Old Toad]

For the mathematically inclined among us:

Quote

(PRLEAP.COM) A Toronto, Ontario, writer and editor has arrived at a system of creating hypercomplex numbers -- numbers that extend the complex number system to more dimensions --using only high school algebra, as viewed through the lens of Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism. He contends that this has implications for mathematics and the philosophy of science.

Rodney Rawlings calls his multidimensional numbers "RADN numbers" -- for "rotating any-dimensional numbers," ...

He says that he arrived at this result by asking himself what exactly numbers are, how they arise in the human mind, and what their relationship to reality is. But these questions were only so fruitful because he used a correct philosophy, he claims -- Ayn Rand's. ...

For the entire article, see: http://www.prleap.com/pr/102679/

For Rawling's website, see: http://www3.sympatico.ca/rr.rawlings/n-dim...ber.systems.htm

Is there anything to it?

This post has been edited by Old Toad: 13 November 2007 - 08:04 PM

[DragonMaci]

I don't know anything about this sort of thing, so cannot say if it is realistic, but I'd like to know what someone like Dwayne that does thinks of it.

[DavidOdden]

Old Toad, on Nov 13 2007, 09:48 PM, said:

http://www3.sympatico.ca/rr.rawlings/n-dim...ber.systems.htm
Is there anything to it?

Literally, no, in the 404 sense. Can you provide the whole URL?

[Old Toad]

DavidOdden, on Nov 13 2007, 09:03 PM, said:

Literally, no, in the 404 sense. Can you provide the whole URL?

I tried to fix the link above, and it seems to work for me -- if I click on them rather rather than cut&paste. Here they are again:

http://www.prleap.com/pr/102679/
http://www3.sympatico.ca/rr.rawlings/n-dim...ber.systems.htm

I don't know why the forum software is abbreviating/changing the URLs, but I am sure there must be a good reason. I just don't know how to use the system in that regard. Sorry.

This post has been edited by Old Toad: 13 November 2007 - 08:10 PM

[softwareNerd]

If you take the last bit out, one gets to his main web-site, but I don;t see anything liken this article. Its a large page, I could have missed it.

Also, Rawling's book.

Added: Ah! I see Old Toad beat me to it.

This post has been edited by softwareNerd: 13 November 2007 - 08:10 PM

[DavidOdden]

Old Toad, on Nov 13 2007, 10:07 PM, said:

I don't know why the forum software is abbreviating/changing the URLs, but I am sure there must be a good reason.

Ah, something for SN to fix....

http://www3.sympatico.ca/rr.rawlings/n-dim...ber.systems.htm

[DragonMaci]

DavidOdden, on Nov 14 2007, 04:03 PM, said:

Literally, no, in the 404 sense. Can you provide the whole URL?

They work fine for me. Maybe it is a error with your browser?

[Prometheus98876]

Well two of the links given to me so far got me the 404 page...

Well the theory sounds really interesting, but I would have to read the book before I could make an informed assessment of his theory. I think that there could be something to it, I will get back to you on once I have read the book. Its good to see at least one mathematician is a AR fan

Did you look this up after we discussed complex numbers the other day?

[Thales]

Do you guys realize Rodney Rawlings is a member of this website? He also posts to The Forum. He posted on that very issue and on his music some months back.

You guys have to pay more attention.

[Clawg]

Not wanting to attack anyone but you should keep in mind that prleap.com is no real news agency but a website where you can post your own articles, i.e. you can advertise your own site / book / whatever if you like.
Having said that here is the forum thread Thales mentioned: http://forum.objecti...?showtopic=7389

[Old Toad]

Thales, no, I was not aware that Rawlings had already posted here. Thanks for pointing me in that direction.

In looking up Rawlings on OO.Net, including his posts and the replies and at some of the links in these posts, the only substantive criticism of Rawlings work was by “Eric” on August 13, 2006 (at the risk of creating another 404 error): http://forum.objectivismonline.net/index.p...st&p=122815

Eric seems knowledgeable in this subject and says that Rawlings’ work “doesn't really give an ‘exact replica’ of the complex number system in higher dimensions.”

After Eric’s criticism, on August 14, 2006, Rawlings posted an “Important Correction to Equations” on the “Rebirth of Reason” forum (at the risk of creating yet another 404 error):
http://rebirthofreas...orum/0935.shtml

Rawlings continues to promote his work. Does Rawlings’ correction (and subsequent corrections) answer Eric’s criticism?


Clawg, I understand that “prleap.com is no real news agency.” My question was: “Is there anything to it?”

[Steve D'Ippolito]

DavidOdden, on Nov 13 2007, 08:22 PM, said:

Ah, something for SN to fix....

http://www3.sympatico.ca/rr.rawlings/n-dim...ber.systems.htm

It works for me if I simply click on it, but attempting to right-click and open in new window gives me just the ellipsis. (Using Internet Exploder.) Replace the stuff after the last slash with the following....

n-dimensional.number.systems

[Old Toad]

In looking at Eric's criticism of Rawlings' work a bit more, Eric had briefly explained to him that: "The problem is division: many of your "numbers" do not have multiplicative inverses." http://forum.objecti...?showtopic=7389

I now see this in Rawlings' current description of his work: "The 'RADN numbers' (known by science under another name) have a property of rotation like complex numbers, and are also commutative/distributive. (Division is deemed less crucial.)" See http://www.lulu.com/content/750696

This indicates that Rawlings recognized the validity of Eric's criticism and dropped the original claim on Rawlings' thread that he had "found a method of creating n-dimensional spaces exactly analogous to the complex numbers’ 2D space."

In this regard, how "crucial" is the property of "division"?

In another regard, the part of Rawlings' statement that: "The 'RADN numbers' (known by science under another name) ..." is also a bit puzzling to me. If previously known to science, what does Rawlings claim to have discovered?