Re:Ten advances in mathematics and theoretical computer science
by naasking on Sunday August 02, 2026 @04:45AM
(#49142437)
Even mechanistic models generate interesting discussion. How many years have we discussed Turing machines and the lambda calculus? Almost a century of great work came out of those.
The reason I insist on mechanistic models is because the original post was making a definitive knowledge claim, and in my experience, the knowledge claim is unwarranted.
This is kind of also the reason e.g. the HN site guidelines are worded the way they are. Regrettably, forums naturally yield themselves to tit for tat type exchanges, but there's really no reason one could not bounce such vague intuitions off of another. I do not have to be right or wrong, and you don't either. Admittedly difficult when its some intensely contentious topic.
If a mechanistic model existed, there would also be no reason to talk about this in the first place. There'd be nothing to discuss, you'd be simply told how a given model characterizes from this perspective on the model cards.