But even if you deep dive enough, there are discrete values, like in Quantum Mechanics. And as long as you have discrete values, you have integers, no? So integers do not seem only like human models, they seem to me as something innate in the universe.
Quantum mechanics is a mathematical description of the behavior of the universe, so wouldn’t invoking this to prove mathematical objects exist be begging the question?
Not to say I agree with GP, but I don’t think it will be so easy to prove GP wrong either
"Discrete values" are also a human metaphor. You say there are two apples on your desk? I say there is a fuzzy quantum mess of probability distribution functions on your desk. "Two apples" is in your mind.
I’m baffled that you’re invoking QUANTum mechanics to ascertain that discrete values don’t exist. At any rate, nominalism has a rich history, so I doubt these hacker news comments will solve the issue…
are atoms discrete? we used to think so. we might never get a better model than quantum physics and it might still be wrong and fail to explain things. So there is a human idea of "discrete element" that we used to apply to everything - and as we look closer, it always breaks down. that doesn't mean it's a useless abstraction, but it is am abstraction - a tool for thought, a map, not the territory
