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Authored by: scav on Tuesday, October 16 2012 @ 04:03 AM EDT |
We may just be talking past each other, or I'm making a
semantic distinction you understand but don't think matters.
I'll try again. Here's an expression of a simple algorithm:
a. take a single number as input, expressed in any way you
like.
b. add it to itself.
c. the value you get is the result.
You know what that algorithm does.
My weak assertion: that expression of the algorithm does not
contain the abstract concept of 2, and incidentally doesn't
contain any representation of the number 2.
My stronger assertion (which you may reasonably disagree
with, but which I hold true): even if the algorithm was re-
written to contain a representation of the number "2" and
was expressed as "multiply the number by 2", the concrete
expression of the algorithm doesn't contain the abstract
mathematical entity that is 2, it only contains an
expression of some representation of it.
---
The emperor, undaunted by overwhelming evidence that he had no clothes,
redoubled his siege of Antarctica to extort tribute from the penguins.[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]
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