|
Authored by: Tolerance on Saturday, February 09 2013 @ 08:34 PM EST |
Do please ask a mathematician, if one is available, whether
a Mersenne prime - or indeed something simpler, like a whole
number - is a law of nature. It's an odds-on bet that his or
her answer will be "no".
Those of a religious bent tend to think of some fundamental
Maths as the work of God, like Kronecker, who infamously
declared that "God made the whole numbers: all else is the
work of man". But they are a minority. Still others place
mathematical laws prior to, and independent of, nature -
numbers existed before the big bang, sort of thing.
But most I have asked tend to think of such things simply as
creations of a mind, like other forms of art. Laws they may
be. Of nature, they are not. Thus, by the criteria of the
supreme court, they are patentable.
I guarantee you when pushed into a corner that is how
Congress will be paid to vote, and the courts will attempt
to give effect to the will of Congress.
---
Grumpy old man[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]
|
|
|
|
|