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I thought it was clear. I would start with 1, not 0 for the first example of the derivation of Natural numbers via succession or the related Peano axiom. I know
by eggy 12y ago
I thought it was clear. I would start with 1, not 0 for the first example of the derivation of Natural numbers via succession or the related Peano axiom. I know some texts start with 1 and others 0, but given counting most likely started with objects, it is more fundamental to begin with 1. The concept of nothing or zero just seems an abstract step away. Nice treatment of the lambda calculus.
- coolsunglasses 12y agoYou really want zero.
- deleted 12y ago[deleted]
- gosub 12y agoIt makes for a more elegant (imho) recursive definition of the sum. Instead of: a + S(b) = S(a) + b a + 0 = a you would have: a + S(b) = S(a) + b a + 1 = S(a) And also you would not be able to express 1 as a sum of two numbers.