Poppa Popobawa
Member
{A rock is many many things}. . .
To investigate the idea of a possible infinity, I understand that you do not accept numbers as qualified for
things in the real world, untermensche, and I'm happy with that, they don't qualify as real things or
real events that can show up in the real world or universe. I'd like your indulgence in considering a scenario,
which I have set up.
. . .
I don't think a person imagines the number three. They just know what the word means. Like knowing what the word rock means.
But knowing what a word means is a very complicated subject. A rock is many many things.
Anyway, "three" is an easy word to know and easy to apply to all things.
Numbers actually are not even involved, just an understanding of a word.
People used and understood quantities before they had formal symbols or even more removed formal arbitrary schemes to define those symbols.
Agreed. I'm using a rock as a stand-in for any small manipulable 3-dimensional "solid" object. In my scenario, the man was in the process of seeing the specific set of rocks before him, and imaging such things as their shape, size and weight, in order to set up the pile he had in mind.
What I gather from your reply is the following, untermensche.
On day 1 . . .
1) The man walking from the boundary, to stand on the lid of the paint can.
That qualifies as a real thing in the real world. It involves physiological events inside the man's body, to achieve his planned location and orientation in space and time.
2) The man seeing the tree to the north.
That qualifies as a real thing in the real world. It involves physiological events inside the man's body.
3) The man facing the north.
That qualifies as a real thing in the real world. It involves physiological events inside the man's body, including the muscular co-ordination in the action of facing the tree.
4) The man imagining the number 3.
This imagining is of the meaning of a word. The imagining is a real thing in the real world, involving the physiology of the man's brain. The entity to which the label applies is not a real thing in the real world.
5) The man imagining what 3 rocks will look like.
This imagining is of a concept, namely "rockness". The imagining is a real thing in the real world. The entity to which the label applies is also a real thing in the real world. The man is also imagining and visualising "threeness" ~ he is visualising a rock, a second rock and a third rock, isolated in a mentally discernable grouping. Different people may hold different things in mind when they imagine "rockness". {Note that the rocks our man would be imagining, are of the type found in the patch of land)
6) The man gathering up 3 rocks.
That qualifies as a real thing in the real world. It qualifies as an event in history, (or will do in the future) It involves physical actions, (motion, lifting up, moving around etc.), as well as all of the physiological ones inside the man's body
7) The man making 1 pile from the rocks.
That qualifies as a real thing in the real world. It involves collective physical real objects, a finite number, and measurable dimensions, if we wanted to measure them, (to a certain degree of accuracy) It involves physical actions, {motion, moving around, lowering into a new location in physical space etc.), as well as all of the physiological ones inside the man's body
8) The fact that the pile of rocks is 3 high. It involves physical real objects, and a finite number.
That qualifies as a real thing in the real world.
On day 2, (actually the third day) . .
9) The man turning to his right.
That qualifies as a real thing in the real world. It qualifies as an event in history, (or will do given more time elapsed)
10) The man facing the east. That qualifies as a real thing in the real world. It is a description of the man's orientation.
11) The man locating rocks, and making a pile of 6.
That qualifies as a real thing in the real world. It qualifies as an event in history, or will do) It involves physical real objects, and a finite number.
12) The man using thought processes to achieve everything in the whole scenario.
The thought processes are a real thing in the real world. Thought processes are events that happen, and have happened into the past. They are part of the physical and chemical functioning in the man's brain. Exactly what goes on in the man's mind is almost impossible for external agents to know. Neurologists are learning more about what goes on in brains of people, when the people are thinking.
I hope I've got all of that right, untermensche. If anything is erroneous, please point it out and explain it to me. There's no need to go through the whole lot, just things which you find incorrect or needing of expansion.
Thanks, Pops