Organic Geometry
Publication information:
Abstract
Perhaps more than just about any academic field of study, the tangible and intuitively appealing ur-phenomena in the study of algebraic geometry over complex projective spaces have become flyover country, leaving little inspiring for the non-expert. In particular, the discovery of the infinite and invisible as a means to prevent the geometry of finite, visible figures from appearing fragmentary and random, is a private and abstracted treasure for experts. This paper attempts to bring the mind-expanding potential of these discoveries into the purview of the lay reader, leading to new ways to conceptualize phenomena like reincarnation and karma. None of the strictly mathematical or geometric statements are matters of any controversy or doubt; their truth is in fact less contestable than even the most well established facts of contemporary empirical science because even a measurement accurate to a trillion digits or an experiment successfully reproduced a quadrillion times is not absolute in the way that mathematics is. That being said, obviously what is pointed to in regard to their metaphysical relevance has a spiritual flavor which is controversial in mainstream thinking. It is the purpose of this paper to bring attention to the phenomena that led to the discovery of the geometrical reality of the infinite and invisible, showing that these firm mathematical truths fit very naturally with and actually support the anthroposophical worldview.
Presenter Biography
Russell Arnold is a projective geometry researcher at the Goetheanum in Dornach. He comes from Chicago and did his doctorate in applied mathematics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.