Discussion
Questions for TNER Ch.4
1. "Is Poseidonios' organization of
Euclidean geometry any "better" that Euclid's?" Pg 123 Are the
two statements "logically equivalent?"
2. "It is ironic that though no measurement
of a triangle can prove Postulate 5, it is possible to
conceive of a measurement that would disprove it" pg 150. How
is this possible?
3. Even if we could create an instrument
that could measure such small units such as, 179.9999999971
degrees, is that safe to say it's 180 degrees or can we not
assume it is close enough? pg 150
4. "Though it certainly seems impossible to
imagine a straight line parallel to AB in one sense but not
the other, the issue here is not what is imaginable, but what
is logical". To me imaginable and logic go hand in hand. If
you can imagine something, then it is logical to you. Why does
it tell us they are not the same concept? p119
5. "Euclid himself was somehow
uncomfortable with Postulate 5. The fact that until Theorem 29
no theorem depends on it, and thereafter every theorem except
Theorem 31 depends on it, make it appear as if he wanted to
postpone using it as long as he could". Why was Euclid so
uncomfortable with Postulate 5?
6. From the reading so far, is the gap in Postulate 5 and the
need to use another replacement postulate apparent? Is it easy
to see where non-Euclidean geometry would intersect or are you
just frustrated with the idea of replacement postulates
substituting Postulate 5 with a seemingly unknown axiom behind
both?
7. Would a curving
surface such as the one Gauss measured change the way
Postulate 5 was considered?
8. How does logic (or the lack of it)
influence our understanding of the world?
9. What is the difference between logical
and scientific reasoning?
10. Can scientific reasoning exist
without logic?