The problem with science
Hitting straight on the monthly topic. Indeed, it's a horse I've been flogging for, like, forever. I'd argue that the current anti-scientific trend among modern societies largely comes from the fact that science is not about knowing "The Truth"(TM), it's about looking for a better understanding of reality. Which implies a great deal of uncertainty
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He was making a comparison between himself and Kurt Gödel, who was better at maths than anyone this side of Ramanujan.
Mind you it's like the Mozart/Salieri legend; even if not true it's too good a story...
All proofs in maths depend on axioms, as do all proofs in logic, formal or otherwise. It's almost like agreeing what words mean so you can have a conversation.
The loose philosophical link between Wittgenstein and Gödel (and others - Tarski, Church, and Turing all spring to mind), and Whitehead/Russell and Hilbert is one of negation. Some things in formalised systems are not provable.
OK. All that aside.
Yes. I agree.
Over here we need to change how we teach science in our state schools. But we also need to change how we teach other subjects here too. Rote learning and teaching to exams are evolutionary changes in education brought about by a number of circumstances: school ranking and achievement tables, constant monitoring by the DoE, and budgetary limitations - which means that when teachers get to a level of seniority and have concomitant salary requirements they are dispensed with because they are too expensive, and they go into the private sector with their expertise.
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