Re:The most common errors in undergraduate mathematics
by lisper on Saturday August 16, 2014 @01:25AM
(#8185473)
> optimize for people is what you do
I guess that depends on what you think math is for. If you think the purpose of math is merely to provide humans with intellectual stimulation then yes, it makes sense to optimize the nation for human consumption. But if you think that math is actually good for something besides being a distraction from existential despair then rendering math for human consumption might not be the thing you want to optimize for. Instead you might want to use a notation that, while it can be rendered for human consumption, isn't optimized for that, but is instead optimized for, say, automated error detection, or automated compilation into some other form, like an executable program or a design for an FPGA.
The closest I can come to an analogy in the horse/car world is that in the horse world it makes sense to dispense water in troughs to make it easy for horses to drink. But despite the fact that water and gasoline are both liquids, it might make not make sense to dispense gas in the same way you dispense water.
I guess that depends on what you think math is for. If you think the purpose of math is merely to provide humans with intellectual stimulation then yes, it makes sense to optimize the nation for human consumption. But if you think that math is actually good for something besides being a distraction from existential despair then rendering math for human consumption might not be the thing you want to optimize for. Instead you might want to use a notation that, while it can be rendered for human consumption, isn't optimized for that, but is instead optimized for, say, automated error detection, or automated compilation into some other form, like an executable program or a design for an FPGA.
The closest I can come to an analogy in the horse/car world is that in the horse world it makes sense to dispense water in troughs to make it easy for horses to drink. But despite the fact that water and gasoline are both liquids, it might make not make sense to dispense gas in the same way you dispense water.