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> You wrote down some string of characters and showed that it can be derived from some other strings of characters by applying a series of arbitrary-looking rul
by throwaway3535 9y ago
> You wrote down some string of characters and showed that it can be derived from some other strings of characters by applying a series of arbitrary-looking rules.
At this point it's turtles all the way down.
- xg15 9y agoNo. That's what it looks like if you only look at the formula. (And why I'd say that formulas are not an "objectively simple way of expressing something*) If you can somehow keep in mind what the formula is supposed to represent, the operations on characters will let you find some insight about that thing and will stop standing only for itself.
- Qwertious 9y agoThe point is that the term "simple" is inherently subjective - there are plenty of concepts that are simple and intuitive once learned, but are hard to learn. Also, mathematical formulas are essentially a different language. If people don't speak it, then it's a moot point.
- paulddraper 9y agoYep :D You have to arbitrarily decide where to end: typical 5-year-old, typical high-school student, typical math professor. What people mean by "simple terms" is "simple terms that I understand".