FOM: answer to mattes quiz

[JSHIPMAN@bloomberg.net]

1.No 2.No 3.Maybe 4.No 5.Maybe 6.No 7.Yes 8.No (but see my
following posting.) 9.No....But seriously, I am beginning to see
why some people are referring to others as having "blind spots".
Obviously Chow's theorem is not foundational in anything like
Steve's sense of the term (and he's the boss).  A necessary
condition is that SOME non-mathematician (my hypothetical
interlocutor who's had math through high school and reads
Science Times would do, but so would a philosopher) would care
about it.  This isn't sufficient--Wiles's theorem, while of
general interest, is "ordinary" mathematics (though FOM might
discuss some of the issues raised by its "proofs"). - J Shipman