3 ms·

I don't think you can dismiss a platonic view of mathematics as simple cultish adoration and wrong. There's many problems with the platonic world of ideals and

• pron 7y ago
  It has nothing to do with the Platonic view of mathematics, that I don't try or wish to dismiss at all. Even if the real numbers are real and, say, complex numbers were discovered, the lambda calculus was still very much invented. The lambda calculus is a formal system, an artificial language, first described in a paper in which the author, Alonzo Church, talks about the arbitrariness and aesthetics involved in inventing a formal system, and ironically, specifically talks about the process of invention in that context: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20699465 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20699465 So claiming that the lambda calculus was invented is 1. factually wrong, 2. fosters a deep misunderstanding of what formal systems are, 3. encourages a mystical view of mathematics. So it is at once wrong and mystical, and so I find it cultish. Note that when, say, discussing the use of complex analysis researchers don't usually spend time on the claim that complex numbers were discovered. But some FP luminaries do, as part of their (perhaps unintended) mission to instill awe and admiration toward their favorite programming style at the expense of understanding.