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Mathematical wit and mathematical cognition
1Department of Humanities & Communication, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL 32901, USA. aberdein@fit.edu
Topics in Cognitive Science
|March 21, 2013
Summary
This study analyzes a mathematical joke to reveal hidden cognitive processes in scientific discovery. Humor in mathematics is linked to risky, creative reasoning essential for innovation.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Science
- Philosophy of Mathematics
- Mathematical Practice
Background:
- Scientific publications often obscure the cognitive processes behind discoveries.
- Understanding mathematical practice requires examining less obvious sources.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze a mathematical joke as a source for understanding cognitive processes in mathematics.
- To propose an account of mathematical humor using argumentation schemes.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of a mathematical joke featuring spurious proof types.
- Application of argumentation schemes to explicate joke components.
- Classification of reasoning patterns under seven headings: retroduction, citation, intuition, meta-argument, closure, generalization, and definition.
Main Results:
- Mathematical humor is associated with risky inferences crucial for creative mathematics.
- Argumentation schemes provide a framework for analyzing topic-neutral reasoning in jokes.
- The joke's components were explicated using devised argumentation schemes.
Conclusions:
- Analyzing humor offers insights into the cognitive underpinnings of mathematical creativity.
- Argumentation schemes are valuable tools for studying mathematical practice and cognition.
- This approach has broader implications for the cognitive science of mathematics.
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