​https://www.canadianatheist.com/2019/07/ask-herb-11-jacobsen/
 
True, the history of humankind must include the history of warfare. Even our prehistory, through archeological findings, shows that there have always been wars. From our hunter-gatherer past, through the Middle Ages and approaching fairly modern times, the norm across many societies included mutilation of the enemy, murder of enemy infants, routine rape, routine torture of prisoners, and other hideous, cruel and unusual punishments. Public executions for the amusement and instruction of the populace were also common. There is a long list in both time and practice of man's inhumanity to man. Today, more than ever, humans have the capacity to use weapons of mass destruction to do away with just about all other humans, as well as the ability to affect climate change that could devastate human life on our planet.

https://medium.com/question-time/ask-dr-silverman-11-nature-antirealism-and-realism-cc4ef32867a1
 
Platonism says abstract objects exist even when they do not exist in space or time, and so they are therefore non-physical and non-mental. For instance, numbers are abstract, non-physical objects. Most mathematicians probably think that mathematical objects exist (as concepts) independent of our human intellect, and that such mathematical objects can be used in determining how any conceivable universe would work. This is an example of Platonism. However, the existence of mathematical objects, as mathematicians understand the notion of existence, is based on the set of axioms mathematicians use. Different axiomatic theories can be useful to model different physical processes, and mathematics is the combined set of all mathematical theories. While we can postulate any axioms we wish, we usually choose only sets of axioms that yield theories we find useful.Platonists would probably try to find an axiomatic theory that is the theory of the universe.

https://medium.com/question-time/ask-dr-silverman-10-mathematical-objects-number-ology-not-numerology-82fcf0492528

​Mathematicians don’t much think about types of mathematical objects. A mathematical object can be anything that mathematicians work on, including functions, sets, vectors, numbers, points, lines, circles, ellipses, matrices, infinite series, and so on. The various specialties of mathematics, like linear algebra, abstract algebra, topology, real analysis, complex analysis, geometry, combinatorics, and many more, can be organized by the type of mathematical objects they primarily concentrate on. Different areas of mathematics have some objects in common. For instance, most mathematical areas deal with objects like numbers, functions, and sets. 
 
 

​https://medium.com/question-time/ask-dr-silverman-9-numbers-numbers-numbers-16ed68d12c95
 
A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The original examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, …., which were extended to take in 0 and the negative integers. This later included rational numbers (fractions), irrational numbers (real numbers that are not rational) like pi and the square root of 2, and complex numbers like the square root of -1.Besides their practical uses, numbers have cultural significance throughout the world. For example, in Western society, the number 13 is regarded as unlucky. Some people also believe in numerology, whichattributesa divine or mystical significance to numbers. One such example, espoused by many Christian fundamentalists, is fear of the number 666, which they refer to as  the Mark of the Beast. Numerology is also associated with the paranormal and astrology. Of course, numerology is a pseudoscience, a superstition that uses numbers to give their subject a veneer of scientific authority.
 

https://medium.com/question-time/ask-dr-silverman-8-infinity-behind-every-real-infinite-is-a-silver-lining-infinite-ca48e718070

​Early puzzles about the infinite might have begun with the ancient Greek philosopher Zeno. One version of his paradox of the infinite is this: “An arrow goes halfway to its target. It then goes another halfway, and repeats the processan infinite number of times. Therefore, it can never reach its target.” But, of course, the arrow does reach its target. Zeno lived long beforethe concept of a limit (the basis of calculus) was discovered independently by Newton and Leibniz. They showed that infinite sums can converge to a finite limit. In Zeno’s case, we can begin with one half, then add half of that (one fourth) and keep adding halves. This infinite series has the limit 1, which is the Zeno target.  
 

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https://medium.com/@scott.d.jacobsen/ask-dr-silverman-7-infinity-1-2-3-4-until-you-cant-count-anymore-171a7297f5c5 
 
There is no middle ground between the finite and the infinite, but there are some strange, non-intuitive things we can say about infinity, some of which I’ll describe. In mathematics, a set (of numbers) is said to be infinite if it can be put into a one-to-one correspondence with a proper subset (not all the numbers) of itself. For instance, the positive integers (1, 2, 3, 4, …)  form an infinite set because there is a one-to-one correspondence between them and the proper subset of positive even integers (1~2, 2~ 4, 3~6, 4~8, 5~10, etc.). A set of numbers that is not infinite is called finite. There is no one-to-one correspondence between the set of numbers {1, 3, 7, 13, and 18} and a proper subset of itself. We say that the cardinality of this set is 5 because it has 5 elements, the same as the cardinality of {10, 20, 30, 40, 50}. 

​Although the 19th-century mathematician Gauss crowned mathematics the “queen of the sciences” because mathematics is essential in the study of all scientific fields, an argument can be made that mathematics is not really a science. Science is empirical, meaning based on observations of nature, and it is potentially falsifiable by new observations of nature. In other words, new evidence can lead us to revise scientific theories, so scientific ideas can never be proved absolutely.Some mathematical ideas, on the other hand, can be absolutely proved. 
For a mathematical statement to be accepted as a theorem, its conclusion must be known to always be true whenever its hypotheses are satisfied. Mathematicians accept that a conclusion must be true based on a proof rather than empirical evidence. The Pythagorean Theorem, for example, can be proved. 
 

https://medium.com/question-time/ask-dr-silverman-5-limits-of-mind-possible-human-science-a9fc20cbe27e?
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https://www.postandcourier.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/letters-to-the-editor-we-need-to-thank-teachers-every/article_fa3f82dc-85fa-11e9-8ec1-1b524c772ae5.html

A letter writer in the May 29 Post and Courier said that separation of church and state is largely responsible for the violence in our schools and throughout society, though he provided no evidence for such an outrageous claim. He said we should act more like a Christian nation and mentioned that the Supreme Court has the Ten Commandments and the president takes the oath of office with a hand on the Bible.  To the contrary, the Supreme Court does not have the Ten Commandments. There is a representation of Moses depicted as one of several lawgivers, not as a religious figure, along with Confucius and Solon.And, it is only a custom that most presidents take the oath of office with a hand on the Bible. Several presidents, including Theodore Roosevelt, did not.

The writer also quoted Martin Luther King Jr. telling us to love our enemies, which does not make us a Christian nation. In fact, King was an advocate for the separation of church and state. He supported the Supreme Court’s decision striking down government-sponsored prayer in public schools.

Having seen the religious wars in Europe, our founders viewed religion as a private matter, without government involvement. That’s why there is no mention of God or Jesus in our Constitution. Those who wish to promote Christianity, other religions, or atheism are free to do so, but without government assistance.

HERB SILVERMAN
 

https://www.canadianatheist.com/2019/06/ask-herb-9-jacobsen/

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