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It's because numbers and logic are all that's involved. Unlike those other disciplines, any "result" in computing could be derived and executed entirely inside
by c22 9y ago
It's because numbers and logic are all that's involved. Unlike those other disciplines, any "result" in computing could be derived and executed entirely inside one's head, the computer, in principle, is just saving us time by doing the calculations for us. This is what makes software analogous to math. I have no idea why math should be immune from the otherwise ridiculous and overreaching patent system.
- amscanne 9y agoThat’s all true for chemistry and physics too, once there’s an understanding of the princples. Yet new chemical compounds are patentable. And software is hardly pure numbers and logic. Many aspects of algorithms (and patents) are related to real world elements of the _machine_ executing instructions. The concept of a “space-efficient” algorithm is only meaningful because space has a real world cost and imposes constraints. There are no implications for space in pure “numbers and logic”.