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The difference is that music is not, in fact, math. The representation is abstract to the utility. With software, the math is the utility.
by t-3 5y ago
The difference is that music is not, in fact, math. The representation is abstract to the utility. With software, the math is the utility.
- jolux 5y agoWhat does “the representation is abstract to the utility” mean? I mean, music isn’t patentable, but it is thoroughly copyrighted.
- alex_smart 5y agoSoftware is also, in fact, not math. Nor is the math the utility of software. Software's utility (usually) is the business problems it solves. The processes are encoded as math, and a lot of writing software is about improving those processes, but that is not in fact the utility. Think of the guy who invented the equi-tempered scale. All throughout history you had to make instruments that are tuned to play in one scale. Now you can suddenly make instruments that can play all of them. Solves a real problem from music by making an improvement in the representation, so it can be viewed as all math. But is it really "just" math?