HSP 124-02
Albion College
Fall 02021
Discussion
Questions for TNER Ch. 5
0. If you are enrolled in HSP 124-02 and
are reading this before 12:00:00 N on Friday, 5 November
02021,
email Dr. Bollman
to receive a 2-point bonus on Project #5.
1. "Bertrand Russell once said, 'Mathematics is the subject in
which we never know what we are talking about, nor whether
what we are saying is true',"(164). How true is this
statement? Could it be applied to any other subject area?
2. "Remember, when you were first learning to prove simple
theorems in high school geometry, how hard it was not to use
'obviously true' things you hadn't proved yet?"(168). How well
do you relate to this?
3. The book speaks of the difficulty that comes with drawing
hyperbolic figures. Do you think any of the figures provided is
better then the others? Can you think of any better way to draw
them?
4. Would teaching non Euclidean geometry earlier in schools make
it easier to understand?
5. As non-Euclidean geometry was “discovered” after years of
searching for a better E5, are there any other topics in other
fields that could be reversed or negated, such as E5, that would
be for the betterment of the field?
6. Is logic just a canvas upon which we plaster meaning?
7. Are we inclined to think of geometry taking place on flat
surfaces because those are all we've commonly had to draw on?
8. How do we all have a common understanding of what terms like
"straight line" and "point" despite their being impossible to
define? Is it just a failing of language?