05-11-2009, 11:24 PM
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#11
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FFR Simfile Author
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Canada
Age: 37
Posts: 7,471
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Re: 1 + 1 = Invalid: cannot add distinct objects
In additional to what Cyanite said, there are various ways to conceptualize 1+1, not just through objects themselves.
Consider only proportions. 1+1 must = 2 through simple understanding of proportions; that is, if you double the amount of X, well, by definition you have double the amount of X. That's really what's happening here, and in math you can formalize this system and call it an axiom.
Whether or not what you're adding is 'exactly identical' or not is irrelevant; it's an abstract concept. From there, you can take that abstract concept and apply it to real world problems.
With respect to uncertainty, sure, everything is uncertain, but it doesn't matter. If you care that much about uncertainty, it's called quantum mechanics, and you can describe the universe using probabilities. Either way, it's math, and you're still using the exact same abstract concepts and applying them to the real world.
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