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> Mathematics has no side effects. Dijkstra and Scholten would beg to differ. Mathematics is the science of describing patterns, and mutable state falls well w
by User23 4y ago
> Mathematics has no side effects.
Dijkstra and Scholten would beg to differ. Mathematics is the science of describing patterns, and mutable state falls well within its purview.
- mbrodersen 4y agoAbsolutely. State Machines are easily modelled in pure math. TLA+ is but one example of this.
- xpe 4y ago> Mathematics is the science of describing patterns ... Ah, but mathematics doesn't require the scientific method.
- User23 4y agoOf course you’re correct in one sense. However, science is an old word and like many others in the English language it has multiple senses. In the context I used it in, it means a systematic body of knowledge. I’m sure you’d agree mathematics meets that criterion. Other examples include ethics and aesthetics.