Post #2134790
2026-04-11 22:16 UTC
for instance, ink on paper has been the primary tool for the expression of mathematical thought for a very long time, but this tends to impose a kind of linearity to the expression of thought. think of all of the textbooks which begin with a kind of "dependency graph," showing which chapters of the book depend on the contents of which other chapters. this is a kind of kludge to get around the limitations of the tool of thought being used! there are projects, like amélia liao's venerable 1lab, which use hypertext instead of ink on paper! hypertext gets around this particular limitation of paper as a tool of thought, but of course it has its own limitations!
Replies (1)
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@mra@mathstodon.xyz 2026-04-11 22:21
i suppose that the point that i'm trying to make is that mathematical thought necessarily transcends any particular medium for its expression, and need not conform to the limitations of any particular medium for it to be valid and worthwhile. a diverse proliferation of tools of thought therefore seems vastly preferable to the evolution of a consensus in which one way is thought of as being "the right way"