I would say that the FP people (and yes, this includes you) are solving the wrong problem. Mathematical formalism is not a substitute for understandability. Where is the mathematical proof that your doorknob turns?
No interesting property of a computer system (vs. a single algorithm) can ever be provable in the mathematical sense - because said proof, if true, can be construed as a program in its own right - and where is the proof of its correctness - which is to say, its consistency and correspondence to actual human wants? A. Perlis put this concisely: "You cannot transition from the informal to the formal by formal means."
Switching between alternate mathematical models of computation will not give us better intelligence amplifiers (what the personal computer is really meant to become.) Instead, we need systems which cut the operator's OODA loop delay as close to zero as possible: http://www.loper-os.org/?p=202
Any idiot can use modelling clay. Or a child's set of blocks. These objects have no hidden state, allow for no inconsistent states, posses no "compile" switch. One can build a computer which behaves in the same way. And no mathematical wankery need be involved.
Lustrate the squiggly crowd! Half a century of stagnation in computing is enough:
“Throughout my life I have known people who were born with silver spoons in their mouths. You know the ones: grew up in a strong community, went to good public or private schools, were able to attend a top undergraduate school like Harvard or Caltech, and then were admitted to the best graduate schools. Their success was assured, and it seemed to come easy for them. These are the people— in many, but certainly not in all cases—who end up telling the rest of us how to go about our business in computing. They figure out the theories of computation and the semantics of our languages; they define the software methodologies we must use. It’s good to have their perspective, but it’s only a perspective, not one necessarily gained by working in the trenches or watching the struggles of people grappling with strange concepts. Worse, watching their careers can discourage the rest of us, because things don’t come easy for us, and we lose as often or more often than we win. And discouragement is the beginning of failure. Sometimes people who have not had to struggle are smug and infuriating. This is my attempt to fight back. Theirs is a proud story of privilege and success. Mine is a story of disappointment and failure; I ought to be ashamed of it, and I should try to hide it. But I learned from it, and maybe you can, too.”
- Richard P. Gabriel, “A Personal Narrative: Journey to Stanford (Patterns of Software)
Comments
I would say that the FP people (and yes, this includes you) are solving the wrong problem. Mathematical formalism is not a substitute for understandability. Where is the mathematical proof that your doorknob turns?
No interesting property of a computer system (vs. a single algorithm) can ever be provable in the mathematical sense - because said proof, if true, can be construed as a program in its own right - and where is the proof of its correctness - which is to say, its consistency and correspondence to actual human wants? A. Perlis put this concisely: "You cannot transition from the informal to the formal by formal means."
Switching between alternate mathematical models of computation will not give us better intelligence amplifiers (what the personal computer is really meant to become.) Instead, we need systems which cut the operator's OODA loop delay as close to zero as possible: http://www.loper-os.org/?p=202
Any idiot can use modelling clay. Or a child's set of blocks. These objects have no hidden state, allow for no inconsistent states, posses no "compile" switch. One can build a computer which behaves in the same way. And no mathematical wankery need be involved.
Lustrate the squiggly crowd! Half a century of stagnation in computing is enough:
“Throughout my life I have known people who were born with silver spoons in their mouths. You know the ones: grew up in a strong community, went to good public or private schools, were able to attend a top undergraduate school like Harvard or Caltech, and then were admitted to the best graduate schools. Their success was assured, and it seemed to come easy for them. These are the people— in many, but certainly not in all cases—who end up telling the rest of us how to go about our business in computing. They figure out the theories of computation and the semantics of our languages; they define the software methodologies we must use. It’s good to have their perspective, but it’s only a perspective, not one necessarily gained by working in the trenches or watching the struggles of people grappling with strange concepts. Worse, watching their careers can discourage the rest of us, because things don’t come easy for us, and we lose as often or more often than we win. And discouragement is the beginning of failure. Sometimes people who have not had to struggle are smug and infuriating. This is my attempt to fight back. Theirs is a proud story of privilege and success. Mine is a story of disappointment and failure; I ought to be ashamed of it, and I should try to hide it. But I learned from it, and maybe you can, too.”
- Richard P. Gabriel, “A Personal Narrative: Journey to Stanford (Patterns of Software)