kmill

52 ms·

451.
by kmill 9y ago
That infinitesimal is not a real number. To simplify a little, a real number is something which is the limit of a sequence of rational numbers. Or, given an error bound 1/n, you can write down a rational number within 1/n of the
452.
by kmill 9y ago
I think I figured it out: you must be one of the aliens predicted by the downward Löwenheim–Skolem theorem! If we could have a model of set theory (a set1 of all set2s, where a set1 is a set in our set theory and a set2 a modeled set, like
453.
by kmill 9y ago
An early computer-based Nomic game (which I've forgotten the name of) had its proposals in the form of patches to the PHP for the game website. The way they handled buggy submitted code was to excise offending blocks of code until it
454.
by kmill 9y ago
Because those don't delete the offending code which must be punished. Also, implore specifies the caller is offensive, and any function which swears a falsehood is offensive. The latter is like assert , but the former is like lif
455.
by kmill 9y ago
That is a question you can ask https://math.stackexchange.com/ Unlike mathoverflow, it is meant for every kind of math question below research level. (Regarding $\to$ vs $\mapsto$, I think of it as type-level vs lambda expr
456.
by kmill 9y ago
Yes, changing the encoding can change the complexity, but I was taking issue with "because it is #P it cannot be NP,' which is what I got out of > Counting solutions is not a decision problem, so it can't be in NP. Is this
457.
by kmill 9y ago
I believe the hardware version traps to the OS for the aread instruction which then executes a bunch of low-level instructions to do IO and parsing. You could start by making a CPU that traps to the OS for every single instruction (except f
458.
by kmill 9y ago
Surely you mean finding a polynomial algorithm for a #P-complete problem?
459.
by kmill 9y ago
http://inform-fiction.org/zmachine/standards/z1point1/index....
460.
by kmill 9y ago
Do you mean that it's #P and not a priori NP? Counting problems can sometimes be in NP by deciding whether the count is the correct one (with the right encoding, function problems can be thought of as a subset of decision problems). A
461.
by kmill 9y ago
It's possible to have metasyntactic variables in languages with more syntax than a Lisp. Some examples are MetaML, MetaOCaml. Terra (a Lua-like language) also has metaprogramming[1]. Or TemplateHaskell. Having a complicated grammar
462.
by kmill 9y ago
Are you sure the name ultimately comes from the character? Or was the character named after the idea of advising? The Online Etymology Dictionary suggests it means "advisor" as the agent noun for mentos, meaning "intent, pur
463.
by kmill 9y ago
A while back I made a partial emulator for Z5 (a version of the virtual machine Infocom games ran on) that recompiled the game dynamically to Javascript[1], and I remember while pouring over the dumps coming across the fact "You'r
464.
by kmill 9y ago
> 3 (f x) Ok, so you have indeed changed syntax. Saying that Haskell/ML-style function application syntax is consistent with juxtaposition for multiplication is in no way inconsistent with anything I have said so far. Remember, yo
465.
by kmill 9y ago
> I don't think you can have all of traditional mathematical notation (which is often highly overloaded) in a programming language while only using syntax for disambiguation. I think it is reasonable to be able to handle certain sub
466.
by kmill 9y ago
Just to keep things in perspective, all I'm saying is that "the ability to write multiplication naturally" comes at a cost. I'm aware of Haskell/ML-like syntax for curried functions, but it is at odds with juxtapos
467.
by kmill 9y ago
That's altering the syntax for function application by allowing f x to mean f(x), which is fine but changing the rules. If we do go with that, then "a b c" should be "Apply a (Apply b c)" because of the associativi
468.
by kmill 9y ago
> the ability to write multiplication naturally That syntax doesn't work along with using parentheses for function application unless you do something like making the parser context-sensitive (so function followed by '(' m
469.
by kmill 9y ago
The Python interpreter compiles programs into bytecode first, and the bytecode includes instructions that load a constant from the constant pool. As an example, >>> def f(): ... x = 2222; y=2222 ... return x
470.
by kmill 9y ago
What are you addressing? My position is that automatic type checkers are nice to have but not essential, and it is possible to prototype software without one. I am not arguing against their use, just what seemed to be your assertion that i
471.
by kmill 9y ago
Source: http://www.lispworks.com/documentation/HyperSpec/Body/26_glo... It is interesting that when people say "everything is an expression," they usually seem to mean that "everything evaluate
472.
by kmill 9y ago
> This is the same Digicomp which made two mechanical "computer" models, or toys I doubt it is the same company. Those toys were made by E.S.R., Inc., whereas the DR70 is by Digicomp Research Corporation, which apparently stil
473.
by kmill 9y ago
Common Lisp acknowledges at least one syntax class: setf forms[1]. [1] http://www.lispworks.com/documentation/HyperSpec/Body/m_defs...
474.
by kmill 9y ago
> They have experience with their problem solving style, they don't have experience with every problem solving style, or even necessarily with my problem solving style. You can't infer much from that, and certainly not that typ
475.
by kmill 9y ago
> What makes you think being able to run such half-specified programs for part of the problem will actually help with answering this question? Perhaps rocky1138 thinks this because they have experience answering this question by doing so
476.
by kmill 9y ago
Or in the arts, the claque: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claque
477.
by kmill 9y ago
E.S.R., Inc.[1], made a few, such as Digicomps I and II, and Dr. Nim. A sliding-plate computer is the Z1[2]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E.S.R.,_Inc . [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z1_(com
478.
by kmill 9y ago
There's also the CARDIAC CARDboard Illustrative Aid to Computation, which simulates the control logic of a simple computer, giving the operator step-by-step instructions for how to proceed. In these modern times, it's more fun to
479.
by kmill 9y ago
Yeah, that bugged me, too. I wonder if it would be better if Metcalfe's law were stated "the value of a network is proportional to the number of links." (At least this isn't a case of talking about the "knee"
480.
by kmill 9y ago
I know that game as "nim," and Wikipedia shows 21 as a variation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nim#The_21_game There's a mechanical version of an AI from the 60s called Dr. Nim. It doesn't learn t

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