5 ms·
My initial problem with parentheses wasn't the stacking of them -- that's inevitable even in elementary arithmetic -- but with the fact that x is not the same a
by Rerarom 5y ago
My initial problem with parentheses wasn't the stacking of them -- that's inevitable even in elementary arithmetic -- but with the fact that x is not the same as (x), which doesn't happen in math and doesn't get emphasised enough in Lisp intros. Once I got that, everything was easy.
Edit: To answer to the responses to this comment, it's not that it's conceptually hard, it's just that the parenthesis symbol in its usual incarnation does not work that way, which leads to confusion.
- lisper 5y agoIt's no different than x being different from x() in C-like languages.
- dhanvanthri 5y agoI mean it's literally the same idea as in set theory. phi is an empty set, (phi) is a set containing an empty set ((phi)) is a set containing a set containing an empty set Furthermore, it's one of the only syntax rules; if it's not a list, then the first element is an operator/function.
- Rerarom 5y agoI agree with that, but in set theory the symbol {} is used. I have nothing against it, I just think it should be emphasized more.
- Koshkin 5y agoHmm, never thought of ∅ as a φ. (According to Wikipedia, the symbol was introduced in the 1930s by Weil, inspired by the letter Ø in the Danish and Norwegian alphabets.)