Tag: philosophy

The Infinite Abacus

An Infinite Abacus (AIA) is both a mathematical and computational tool. Its features include the ability to store any kind of numerical measurement along with the ability to retrieve it. Conceptually it may record any number of measurements, but from an analysis perspective it would only make sense to record a single value “on” a particular device (datum), and as many as you see fit “with” a particular device (metadata). Its beads and frames may be used to model various computational systems, but it is not a mandatory feature of the tool.
The AIA should be viewed as a physical device that lives within the constraints of this reality but also exists beyond them. You may work with 1 of them as easily as you would work with 1 million of them. Additionally they have no identity or location within the time-space continuum, but for the sake of analysis they may be granted those elements for the sake of modeling so that spatial and material-property analyses may be performed given attributes of each AIA that we find valuable. AIA is not subject to death or decay. They have no mass of their own, or value of their own; instead they live only to serve. The masses of the things that they define, though, maybe be utilized; along with the reason for their existence.
The computational engineer is responsible for defining, allocating, collecting, analyzing, refining, and redefining a system of AIAs. An iterative processes is repeatedly performed as new AIAs are revealed and existing AIAs are returned. The primary limiting factors in defining a system of AIAs are the ignorance of the fundamental nature of this reality that comes with being human, the limited cognitive capacity that comes with it, and the relatively small knowledge base held by humanity given the magnitude and volume of the entirety of reality.

What Are The Limits Of What This Reality May Teach Us?

I thought that I could find God somewhere in this post [1][2], and other explorations, but in retrospect I was woefully wrong.
I thought that since our universe was created by God, that we could spiritually benefit from understanding it in all of its aspects, but was wrong here, too.
When I pick apart the fundamental natures of our current reality [3]: namely space, time, and causality, the Y Combinator is revealed instead to be, an artifact that *MUST OCCUR*, by definition of this reality, and not something that brings you closer to God per se.
All of the mathematical constants [4] are similarly are as they must be, in this current configuration of reality, because that is in fact their only option, without any implications beyond that.
[1] https://www.wisdomandwonder.com/article/6344/understanding-the-y-combinator-with-racket
[2] https://www.wisdomandwonder.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/y.html
[3] https://www.wisdomandwonder.com/article/8206/what-is-the-fundamental-nature-of-our-universe
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematical_constant

What is the fundamental nature of our universe?

While working on the easy questions in life I put aside some time to work on defining the fundamental natures of our experience of this universe. The best that I could come up with is:
* Identity: We experience a sense of self that is separate from “others”.
* State: We experience things with a certain configuration.
* Time: We experience a past, present, and future.
* Quantity: We experience configurations in varying amounts. Nearly every idea may be expressed as a number.
* Causality: We experience or observe state changes due to interactions. A combination of identity and state result in things like the phenomenon of sequencing.
* Mortality: We are subject to death and decay.
Observations:
* Is it really this simple? What am I missing? What should be removed?
* Programmers may be intrigued to view their medium at a higher-level if they have not before done so. For functional programmers bewitched by “purity”, one might consider that there is a lot more to remove from a particular programming language to really make it “pure” as long as it remains befuddled by my long list. As I read the list, my romance with logic and its foundations in computer science is deeply reinvigorated.
* Would your life be the same if we didn’t have time? Or causality? What if we lived in only one dimension? What if past and present were intertwined?
* If we never died, how would we live differently or evolved differently?

The Role Of Compiler and Interpreter Writers

Compiler and interpreter writers fill a delightful yet barely occupied role of those who are tasked with bridging the literal gap between machine and implementation and philosophical gap between desire for feature and fulfillment.
My lack of experience in the topic and with such professionals leaves me surprised that not more roles and holders of the expertise exist compared to the more common areas of implementation.

Some Nice Books About Food

Haven’t cooked everything in them, but reading them sure made me hungry:
* ϰ Fresh from the Vegan Slow Cooker Robin Robertson
* ϰ Great Gluten-Free Vegan Eats: Cut Out the Gluten and Enjoy an Even Healthier Vegan Diet with Recipes for Fabulous, Allergy-Free Fare Allyson Kramer
* ϰ The Allergy-Free Cook Bakes Bread: Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free Laurie Sadowski
* ϰ The Soy-Free Vegan: Breakfast Recipes Joy Lynn Michaels
* ϰ Vegan Slow Cooking for Two or Just for You Kathy Hester