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It's pretty clear to me that this is an attempt to explain the mechanisms of lambda calculus using familiar metaphors. I think it could be very helpful for int
by RickHull 14y ago
It's pretty clear to me that this is an attempt to explain the mechanisms of lambda calculus using familiar metaphors. I think it could be very helpful for introducing the concepts.
- groby_b 14y agoReally? When I first read a text book about lambda calculus, it was fairly straightforward. When I read _this_, I was puzzled. What the heck are we doing? Why do I care about alligators? What's the point of this? And it only made sense when he said "it's like lambda calculus". It's a sad explanation if you need to understand the concept to understand the explanation.
- recursive 14y agoI've never read a textbook about lambda calculus. When I red this, it was fairly straightforward, and I didn't need a pre-existing knowledge of lambda calculus to get it. There are plenty of people who don't understand the point of what they read in math textbooks. Not everything is one-size-fits-all.
- pwf 14y agoFamiliar metaphors like an egg hatching into the prey of its parents?
- rdw 14y agoThe point of a metaphor is that it helps you make guesses about the behavior of something you don't yet understand by extrapolating from something you do understand. If there's no extrapolation possible, then it's lost its power. At that point it's just a theme.