Re: Hypostatic And Prescisive Abstraction -- Discussion Notes

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HAPA.  Discussion Note 2

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Abstractions And Their Deciduation Problems

I have studied mathematics one way or another most of my life,
and mathematics is nothing if not the study of abstract objects,
yet I do not believe that I am ready to venture my own definition
of "abstract object", not just yet, and I honestly do not know if
I ever will be, but what I have been attempting intermittently to
do all this while is to transmit the sort of information that the
typical backwoodsman in the wild wold of logic and mathematics
might regard as being analogous to a botanical key, useful in
recognizing various species of abstract objects, with which
I can genuinely say that I have some acquaintance, although
I would prefer to defer, in my reference, in my reverence,
to ones who I know know vastly more.  So forgive a quote:

| To most otherwise "forest-minded" folk, the approach of autumn
| with its showers of many-colored leaves, spells the end of the
| season's activities in the indentification [sic] of deciduous
| trees and shrubs.  Without leaves, the members of the forest
| community, unless they be relatively large, seem to lose
| much of their summer's identity and may even descend to
| the level of "brush".  This is in reality not the case,
| as may be easily discovered by examining any leafless
| twig with a 10-x pocket lens, or even with the naked
| eye.  A casual glance at Plate 1 will also serve to
| show that woody plants in winter are anything but
| featureless.
|
| Harlow, William M.,
|"Twig Key to the Deciduous Woody Plants of Eastern North America",
| 4th ed., reprinted in 'Fruit Key and Twig Key to Trees and Shrubs',
| Dover, New York, NY, 1959.  Originally published by the author 1954.

Jon Awbrey

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