INVENTION OR DISCOVERY?
Was mathematics invented by humans or did we just discover it?
A. The fact that 1 plus 1 equals 2, or that there are an infinite number of prime numbers are truths about reality that held even before mathematicians knew about them. As such, they are discoveries, but they were made using techniques invented by mathematicians. For example, according to the Pythagorean theorem, the square of the hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides. This is true for all right-angled triangles on a flat surface, so it’s a discovery.
However, proving that it is true requires the invention of a proof. And over the centuries, mathematicians have devised hundreds of different techniques capable of proving the theorem. In short, mathematics is invented and discovered.
BOTTLED AND CANNED
Like most of us, when I drink a soda or beer from an aluminum can, I do so without giving it a wipe, not even a swipe of my hand. How harmful is this?
A. No matter what bottled or canned beverage you drink, you should always rinse it first. This is the reason:
These prepared products are shipped and handled by many facilities before reaching your store shelf, just like all those fruits and vegetables we discussed above. Therefore, products go through quite a few pairs of hands before safely reaching your home. As he points out Reader’s Digest, your drinks may arrive quite sprouted as a result. Unfortunately, even if you’re not drinking straight from the container, pouring it over can still bring unwanted germs into your glass.
The outlet quotes Caitlin Hoff, a health and safety researcher, who notes: “It’s important to wash off dirt and bacteria that cans can pick up before drinking from a soda or opening a canned soda and exposing food to the bacteria on the outside of the can.”
To drive the point home, CBS 11 News proved just how bad unwashed soda containers really are. Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, pseudomonas luteola, and enterobacter cloacae were some of the possible infection-causing bacteria that were present in beverage containers throughout the city. Our suggestion? Avoid the problem entirely and give your beverage bottles and cans a good rinse the next time you grab one from a vending machine, grocery store, or a friend’s fridge.
FRIENDSHIP GROUPS
Do the so-called “friendship groups” like the one with China a few years ago and the most recent one with Russia have any practical purpose?
R. I share, for example, that one or two weeks ago there was a very dangerous matter of corruption in the European Parliament where some members received gifts and money from (it is said) the country of Qatar. MEPs are also calling for stricter rules to protect whistleblowers, supervising so-called friendship groups and regulating “side jobs”, as well as making the EU Transparency Register mandatory.
In Mexico we had (or still have?) the highly promoted Mexico-China Friendship Group that gave us some devices to combat the covid in exchange for “good will” and ignore the calls for attention to the (it is said) origin of the covid in China. More recently, there was the creation of the Mexico-Russia Friendship Group, coinciding with the (Russian) purpose of being able to improve its image in the face of the invasion of Ukraine and the murder of its population.
