> Life crossed a threshold from chemistry to biology on Earth, and developed exponentially from there. Order in mathematics crosses a similar threshold, as it b

> Life crossed a threshold from chemistry to biology on Earth, and developed exponentially from there. Order in mathematics crosses a similar threshold, as it becomes sufficiently structured to support algebraic reasoning. It's funny, because I think this metaphor cuts exactly the opposite direction -- code reaching sufficient complexity, the pure math approach doesn't survive an encounter with the real world. I love static analysis and think that there are core business domains that are best expressed with a rich type system, but there is a whole world of absolutely critical programming that cannot simply eliminate messiness, due to interfacing with humans and our flawed practices. With sufficient time and an expressive enough type system, even the messiest business process can be represented, but I'm not convinced that's an example of beauty but rather stubbornness.