>>16749832
Well its a long story...
I remember back in junior High School encountering sqrt2 for the first time. I was deeply upset by this. It shocked me to my core. It was at odds with everything I believed math to be: Absolute. Precise. Exact. That there existed some number which could never be calculated in decimal form with absolute precision, derived from something so basic as placing two line segments of equal length at right angles to each other, was a terrible shock. Something was obviously not right here. Something was fundamentally wrong, or if not wrong then incomplete. Of course then came shit like pi etc. I sidelined my doubts and just went with the flow. There were tests to take, assignments to be handed in, exams at the end of the year.
But I still harbored my doubts. But what did I know? I was just a kid. I let it slip, you know, girls, sport, then life, job, etc.
But I pondered this matter occasionally, wishing I had the talent and training to gain deeper insight. Then one day I happened on a math forum and discovered there were a few like me who also had concerns about the fundamental concepts of mathematics. It was a relief to know I was not alone, and that were those far smarter and better educated than me who had also been irked Then I learned that even the ancient Greeks who had done so much to advance geometry had been very concerned by the nature of sqrt2. It really pissed them off.
This lead me to try and examine the nature of mathematics from a variety of approaches what it exactly was and the underpinning fundamental concepts. I was trying to think if there was a better description which did not result in decimal sequences running off to infinity. I tried all sorts of thought experiments.
This shit thrilled me and frustrated me at the same time.
Alas I did not reach any new ground breaking insights. That will no doubt be reserved for some super genius in the future. But it did convince me of one thing...
End of Chapter 1.
