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Comment Communal genius is a Good Thing and is common (Score 1) 364

I am glad that this is being talked about. I think the way things are going is towards communal creativity in society and it is not a bad thing, although a lot of people don't like the idea and find it hard to accept. If you look at things that are more visible to the average person than science, these too are collaborative ventures but I find interesting is that I think people often try to ignore the fact to the point of flat denial of the facts. Who makes boy band "music"? The image, choreography, probably lyrics, musical notes, instrument playing, production, marketing, promotion are probably all done to a greater or lesser extent by teams of seasoned professionals. Yet the people who buy the music like to buy into ideas like "I like what they sing. I like the way they look. I would like to date him. He's special." It's an illusion and not even a well hidden one. I think the sooner people start to accept the idea that we are small cogs in big machines the happier we will all be. It doesn't mean you "don't matter". You still matter completely to those around you and your loved ones and that's really all that counts. The other is an illusion. And it doesn't mean you can't do your job well and take pride in what you achieve together. Do you think that football players feel less pride when they win than tennis players, just because they are a team?
Math

Quantum Test Found For Mathematical Undecidability 223

KentuckyFC writes "Philosophers have long wondered at the profound link between mathematics and physics, but how deep does this connection go? Pretty deep according to the results of a quantum experiment exploring the nature of mathematical undecidability. Here's how: any logical system must be based on axioms, which are propositions that are defined to be true. A proposition is logically independent from these axioms if it can neither be proved nor disproved from them; mathematicians say it is undecidable. In the experiment, researchers encoded a set of axioms as quantum states. A particular measurement on this system can then be thought of as a proposition which, if undecidable, yields a random result — which is what they found. 'This sheds new light on the (mathematical) origin of quantum randomness in these measurements,' say the researchers (abstract)."

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