{Hawking [(1)][continued (6)]}[19th July 1988]

[Redbook5:215][19880719:0000f]{Hawking [(1)][continued (6)]}[19th July 1988]

(19880719. )

[continued]

The validity of mathematics is of interest in the context of what I suspect is coming* in the rest of Hawking's book.** It seems to rest on two attributes: internal consistency; and external corroboration.***

Internal consistency is no more than we require of (for example) a novel: although necessary, it is insufficient on its own to allow validity, and it is certainly not unique to Maths.

External corroboration is presumably decided by the rules of the science in whose support the mathematics is being invoked: for physics, empirical observation.

On this ground, the scope of mathematics must be restricted to the scope of Science, i.e. the Physical Universe.

*(I've peeked.)

**[Stephen Hawking, 'A Brief history of Time', Bantam, 1988]

***e.g. measurement 'on the ground', presumably. <891010>

See ibid p157 (on [[Redbook5:217-218][19880722:1150]{Hawking [(3)]}[22nd July 1988],] 218↓)

[continues]

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