Some comments on "The Mathematical Universe"

I discuss some problems related to extreme mathematical realism, focusing on a recently proposed "shut-up-and-calculate" approach to physics (arXiv:0704.0646, arXiv:0709.4024). I offer arguments for a moderate alternative, the essence of which lies in the acceptance that mathematics is (at least in part) a human construction, and discuss concrete consequences of this--at first sight purely philosophical--difference in point of view.Comment: 11 page

Learning meets Verification

Abstract. In this paper, we give an overview on some algorithms for learning automata. Starting with Biermann’s and Angluin’s algorithms, we describe some of the extensions catering for specialized or richer classes of automata. Furthermore, we survey their recent application to verification problems.