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axiomatic

Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2012 3:13 pm
by William Hupy
You would think the definition of this word would be readily apparent. But then phonetic is not phonetic.

Re: axiomatic

Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2012 4:32 pm
by Perry Lassiter
Doesn't axiomatic mostly restrict the meaning of axiom to an accepted precept, excluding the meaning of a proverb. "It's axiomatic that we will have weather. The question is what kind of weather."

Re: axiomatic

Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2012 2:50 am
by Philip Hudson
Perry: Your use of axiomatic is one I had never thought of. I suppose I need a wider vision of the word. The root of "axiom" is something like "appropriate" in Greek but does come to us as sort of meaning “obvious”. In mathematics, it is the minimal set of rules from which one may construct a complete mathematical system. They say that if one disallows the axiom of choice then one can never prove the existence of irrational numbers. I have just done a quick reviewed my fifty-five year old mathematics MS experience, and I no longer know what that means, if I ever did. In Point Set Theory class, I tried to point out that the whole thing was irrational, but my professor didn't get the joke. I think I detect a hint of a joke in William's initial comment. Keep on truckin'.

Re: axiomatic

Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2012 12:00 pm
by Perry Lassiter
As a philosophy major, I took a course in symbolic or mathematical logic, hoping to find new ways to reason. Instead I found GIGO before computers. Logic makes sure you aren't reasoning irrationally, but doesn't really discover anything new, since you've already included it with the input. Thus I have recently begun drafting a paper on axioms, what they are, and how you choose them. So far I'm stuck on defining words.

The other axiom is synonymous with adages as in Poor Richard.