Re:Habits of highly mathematical people
by SatvikBeri on Saturday July 30, 2016 @03:08PM
(#12194238)
Even in Math, coming up with good definitions is often the hard part. For example, modern point-set topology is both extremely powerful and consists of theorems that seem obvious to prove, but that's because the definition of a topology is so well-chosen.
I like how Conor McBride put it:
> I usually take the presence of any proofs in my code as the cue to question my definitions.
Yes, but the while the conclusions become trivial, actually coming up with those rigorous definitions is not.
I'm not going to provide examples because they are likely to start a flamewar. But if you search for words like "normative" or "core principle" in my comment history, you can see how difficult it is to actually come up with those rigorous definitions. The problem is that when you do, you either come up with unsatisfying arbitrary definitions, or else you wind up implying peripherally related conclusions you probably dislike.
Yes, I am definitively guilty of being "highly mathematical" (and also highly economical and philosophical), and it pushes me to recognize incoherence in mainstream "thought".