[Beowulf] OS for 64 bit AMD

Richard Walsh rbw at ahpcrc.org
Wed Apr 6 06:56:43 PDT 2005


Tony Travis wrote:

> Robert G. Brown wrote:
>
>> [...]
>> Ah, but the PROPER and ORIGINAL meaning of axiom is "unprovable
>> assumption" upon which a system of logic and discourse is built.  The
>> final half-definition is the only one that is actually correct.
>
>
>> In fact, I've got a whole essay entitled "Axioms" on my personal
>> website.  Seriously.
>
>
> Hello, Robert.
>
> OK, I bow to your greater wisdom: I have now learned that axioms are:
>
> "...unprovable assumptions whose truth and falsehood cannot be assessed"
> [http://www.phy.duke.edu/~rgb/Philosophy/axioms.php]

This is the definition I have always thought was the most fundamental.  
The word
is used colloquially most of the time.  In fact, the truth of an axiom 
is always debatable.
We simply come to rest on a idea so that we can proceed to 
act/compute/design/think
etc.  ... but we must always be aware of the potential for 
overreaching.  Perhaps the
most basic axiom is that of the notion of identity (one cannot count 
without it), but
we all know that in fact no two things are identical.  We carry on with 
it anyway
because the implications (all of mathematics) are so useful and interesting.

rbw




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