> We _don’t_ need computer language symbols and grammar and syntax — it’s just another form of expression, and definitely not one that fits the human mind nicel

> We _don’t_ need computer language symbols and grammar and syntax — it’s just another form of expression, and definitely not one that fits the human mind nicely A computer is a machine that implements a particular form of mathematics. We happen to use them for fuzzy, imprecisely defined tasks, thanks to mountains of convenient abstraction, but we do very much need precise mathematical language for other classes of problems! A language is a vehicle. If we need to build a website, natural language specs might get us where we want to go. If we need to build a rigorous model of some phenomenon, natural language is often an obstacle. There is a reason mathematicians invent and adopt formalisms: they extend our capacity for precise computation, mental or digital.