10.04.2025
As the number of dead and severely wounded in the Russian – Ukrainian war surpasses a million souls; as the body count in the latest Israeli – Palestinian war hits five digits; as China threatens Taiwan; and as Houthis attack Red Sea shipping, polite table talk often veers to the impolite subject of international politics. Yet the resultant flow of words easily becomes lost in a fog of imprecision, ambivalence and conflicting definitions. It is possible to argue with someone with whom you totally agree, only because of a different understanding of terms. To a scientist, mathematician, or engineer this state of affairs is unacceptable. A theorem, or equation is but a meaningless waste of ink unless and until the terms are defined. F=ma has meaning only if F is defined as force, m as mass and a as acceleration. Any ambiguity or ambivalence in such matters results in failure, error or... |
