An Intuition for Lisp Syntax

Re:An Intuition for Lisp Syntax by dhanvanthri on Friday May 28, 2021 @02:42AM (#27312410)

I mean it's literally the same idea as in set theory.

phi is an empty set,

(phi) is a set containing an empty set

((phi)) is a set containing a set containing an empty set

Furthermore, it's one of the only syntax rules; if it's not a list, then the first element is an operator/function.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:An Intuition for Lisp Syntax by Koshkin on Friday May 28, 2021 @02:44PM (#27319054)

Hmm, never thought of ∅ as a φ. (According to Wikipedia, the symbol was introduced in the 1930s by Weil, inspired by the letter Ø in the Danish and Norwegian alphabets.)

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:An Intuition for Lisp Syntax by Rerarom on Friday May 28, 2021 @03:02AM (#27312518)

I agree with that, but in set theory the symbol {} is used.

I have nothing against it, I just think it should be emphasized more.

[ Parent | on HN ]