No, seriously. Just look what this example does - it recursively provides a short description for each of the important concepts in the process of baking cakes. After reading this, I now feel I have a decent map of the topic - both what the things / processes involve and what they don't involve. I've also been introduced to domain terminology that will help me understand other sources.
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As for original question, why definitions - I believe it's good to have precise definitions next to casual explanations of the same things, just so that the reader can quickly connect the casually discussed aspect with the precise definition, and answer some of their own questions (which authors can't predict) through thinking.
Note e.g. that I never once cited an actual cake, I merely provided an example of a category of cakes. This too is a problem with mathematics, so in love with their abstractions, they no longer notice the lack of the concrete.
>Sorts and function symbols are just symbols. Something is a sort if it is in the collection of sorts. Nothing else is required.
If you gave up before reading this, then you didn't even read the 4th paragraph.
She even appeared on the late show (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mA402F5K47o).
A cake is a baked good containing one or more edible substances, created by a baker. Cakes are made in a kitchen, using appliances, implements and utensils. An appliance is a powered mechanical device used to augment the baker's abilities, different from an implement and a utensil. Implements and utensils are unpowered tools used by hand to produce batter from ingredients. A batter is a mixture produced in stages, consisting of a base starch, proteins and flavoring agents.
For a concrete example of a cake, consider a cake containing one or more fruits. The fruit may be uniformly distributed among the cake's contents or clustered in toppings. This produces the cake's characteristic flavor and color, though color may also result from artificial coloring agents.
Through prolongued exposure to heat, we can transform batter into a cake. Molds may be used for this. Any bowls, spoons or whisks used in the process may contain residual batter suitable for direct consumption. [1]
In some ways I've stopped just when things were about to get good, but now you should have a solid understanding of the fundamentals.
[1] Licking is actually quite natural in this context.