Bunches
On 12/2/05, John.Cowan <jcowan@reutershealth.com> wrote:
> The trouble is that "length" is polymorphic; we speak of the measured
> length of a physical object (which is a rational interval, like
> "10 cm +/- 5%") as well as the calculated or stipulated length of a
> mathematical object (which is a single real number). Duration is not
> treated symmetrically: we do not talk of the duration of a mathematical
> object, so all durations are measured values.
I agree that when we measure an object, whether in space or time,
we obtain as a result a rational number, with some explicit or implicit
error. But I don't think this means that we conceive of the object
as consisting of a discrete aggregate of unit objects in whatever
scale we are using. I'm pretty sure I don't anyway.
As for abstractions, it's true that Euclidean space is more
familiar than Minkowski spacetime, and time is not treated
symmetrically with space in important ways, but as far as
continuity goes, I don't really see a difference.
mu'o mi'e xorxes