Tuesday, 4 October 2005
The Geometer as Conjuror
The Status of Force in Newton-Cartan Theory
Alexander Afriat, U. of Urbino, Italy
12:05 pm, 817R Cathedral of Learning

Abstract: I consider epistemological implications of Cartan's generally covariant theory of Newtonian gravity, which allows one to choose between a flat geometry plus force, and a curved geometry into which force has been ‘absorbed’. Can the geometer conjure up force at the stroke of a pen? Is force an empty mathematical fiction?