3 ms·
This reminded me of the illegal number [0]. People being told the number was illegal so created flags that also represented the number. The neat thing was that
by 14 7y ago
This reminded me of the illegal number [0]. People being told the number was illegal so created flags that also represented the number. The neat thing was that by making numbers illegal anything that can be used to represent those numbers also becomes illegal. Like art work painted a certain way. Imaging being told you can not paint a certain color pattern as it is illegal.
0: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_number https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_number
- dragonwriter 7y agoThe term illegal number is like calling ink contraband because the use of ink in a manner which communicates something illegal may itself be illegal. Illegal numbers aren't illegal themselves. (And, anyway, by the theory justifying calling them illegal, every configuration of matter is illegal, since not only can any information be encoded in a number, but any information can be encoded—by selecting the right encoding scheme—in any finite number, and any configuration of matter can be represented by a number, so any information can be, by choosing the right scheme, be encoded in any configuration of matter.