Experiments in Mathematics: Fact, Fiction, or the Future?

Jean Paul Van Bendegem ()
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Jean Paul Van Bendegem: Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Center for Logic and Philosophy of Science

A chapter in Handbook of the History and Philosophy of Mathematical Practice, 2024, pp 2821-2846 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract In this chapter, the possibility of experiments in mathematics is examined. A general scheme is proposed as a tool to handle the different forms of experiments that are being used in mathematical practices: computations, “experimental mathematics” as a new research domain in mathematics and computer science, real-world experiments, and thought experiments. In a final section, extensions of the scheme are proposed that further support the conclusion that mathematical experiments are indeed facts and the future.

Keywords: Mathematical experiment; Computation; Pattern searching; PSLQ; Plateau’s problem; Thought experiment; Lakatos (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-031-40846-5_32

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-40846-5_32

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