You Might Be a Platonist If ...

[J_B_]

In answering the poll, assume perfect, rigid sphere A is orbiting perfect, rigid sphere B and that no other objects affect the motion of sphere A.

Then, pick your poison.

 

[GreekOrthodox]

I went with A&C. A because it should follow Kepler law of orbits. C because that's Plato

 

[FrumiousBandersnatch]

I went with A&C. A because it should follow Kepler law of orbits. C because that's Plato

I'd have thought B was the Platonic description - IIRC, an ellipse is a Platonic ideal form to which all worldly ellipses approximate. But it's been a while since I read Plato...

 

[Hans Blaster]

In answering the poll, assume perfect, rigid sphere A is orbiting perfect, rigid sphere B and that no other objects affect the motion of sphere A.

Then, pick your poison.

Your description is too vague. As a modern human (living thousands of years after Plato) I generally use the word orbit to mean either 1. The gravitationally driven motion of one body around another, or 2. being within the close interaction of a particular and influential or popular person: "He was in Trump's orbit for years."

I however suspect that there maybe another purely mathematical meanings that you might be referring to.

So is this a question about physics or something else?

 

[J_B_]

So is this a question about physics or something else?

Physics. It's posted in the science forum.

 

[Hans Blaster]

Physics. It's posted in the science forum.

OK then, but I'm not sure what a "Platonist" is or why it matters. He died roughly 2000 years before proper physics was developed. (You know, the kind that could solve this problem.)

 

[J_B_]

OK then, but I'm not sure what a "Platonist" is or why it matters. He died roughly 2000 years before proper physics was developed. (You know, the kind that could solve this problem.)

Philosophy of mathematics - Wikipedia
Scientific realism - Wikipedia

 

[Hans Blaster]

Philosophy of mathematics - Wikipedia
Scientific realism - Wikipedia

Now there, wouldn't it have been easier to just define Platonism and ask people the question?

I tend to think of numbers as abstract ideas and that perhaps mathematics is an invention. I definitely wouldn't go the way of Max Tegmark.

 

[Yttrium]

I might be a Platonist if I come up with a Platonic answer to a Platonic situation?

I don't get it. A perfect sphere orbiting another perfect sphere with nothing else acting on them is an unreachable ideal, which sounds awfully Platonic. I'd say it's a sign you're a Platonist if you came up with the scenario in the first place...

 

[J_B_]

I might be a Platonist if I come up with a Platonic answer to a Platonic situation?

I don't get it. A perfect sphere orbiting another perfect sphere with nothing else acting on them is an unreachable ideal, which sounds awfully Platonic. I'd say it's a sign you're a Platonist if you came up with the scenario in the first place...

Or maybe not.

 

[Ophiolite]

Or maybe not.

It would helpful (and courteous) if you were to be clearer as to what you are driving at/ hoping to elicit from members/ seeking to communicate. At present you seem more set on obfuscation than clarification.

 

[J_B_]

It would helpful (and courteous) if you were to be clearer as to what you are driving at/ hoping to elicit from members/ seeking to communicate. At present you seem more set on obfuscation than clarification.

I recorded my vote. My answer to the question is C.

Is something about the question unclear to you?

 

[Speedwell]

I recorded my vote. My answer to the question is C.

Is something about the question unclear to you?

The problem we are having with it is that there is no such thing in reality as a "perfect, rigid sphere,"

 

[sjastro]

I believe in Kepler's Music of the Spheres.
I suppose that makes me a Bassoonist rather than a Platonist.

 

[Ophiolite]

I recorded my vote. My answer to the question is C.
Is something about the question unclear to you?

What was you primary reason for taking the poll?
Why did you choose C?
Why did you ignore several comments by members?
Why did you give obscure answers to some questions?
Are you taking the proverbial?

Concise, accurate answers to those questions would bring clarity.

 

[FrumiousBandersnatch]

The problem we are having with it is that there is no such thing in reality as a "perfect, rigid sphere,"

Exactly, it is, as Yttrium suggests, an ideal Platonic form...

 

[Ophiolite]

Exactly, it is, as Ophiolite suggests, an ideal Platonic form...

I should like to take credit for that, but I don't think it was me. I don't want to plagiarise credit.

 

[J_B_]

The problem we are having with it is that there is no such thing in reality as a "perfect, rigid sphere,"

I never said there was. I asked you to assume. When studying Kepler's laws in your introductory physics class, what type of object was specified for examples, homework, etc.?

 

[J_B_]

What was you primary reason for taking the poll?

It was an impulse. Something just for fun - for people to discuss their view of the various possible answers. The first few responses seemed to understand that.

Why did you choose C?

Because it best represents my view.

Why did you ignore several comments by members?

I feel no obligation to answer everyone or every comment. I answer when and where I feel it's appropriate.

Why did you give obscure answers to some questions?

I don't find them obscure. People are always free to ask for clarification.

Are you taking the proverbial?

I don't understand what you're asking.

 

[essentialsaltes]

When studying Kepler's laws in your introductory physics class, what type of object was specified for examples, homework, etc.?

Planets, of course.

Moons. Artificial satellites. asteroids.