[Om3] Summary of the Davenport&Kohlhase Proposal

Michael Kohlhase m.kohlhase at jacobs-university.de
Tue Mar 24 22:00:01 CET 2009



On 24.03.2009 22:11 Uhr, David Carlisle wrote:
>    
>> The justification is that with the extension we do not have to force
>> math practicioners into using lambdas all the time
>>      
>
> huh? the scary thing is using formal binding operations, If they are
> more scared if the head symbol is called "lambda" than "prodcond" then
> that is just weird.
>    
<tongue-in-cheek>
The world is a weird and wonderful place (and to quote from the 
Hitchhiker (from memory): if someone completely understood the universe, 
it would be instantaneously replaced by an even weirder and more 
wonderful one).

The problem with lambdas is that there is an actively proselytizing sect 
of mathematicians (type theorists; I have a lot of sympathy for them) 
that push them. They have scared everyone by their higher morals 
standards and done formalization a disfavor in the long run. As much as 
I am (privately) a member of sect, with my hat of an OpenMath member I 
have to acknowledge that most mathematicians aren't.
</tongue-in-cheek>

I think there is good reason to accept the fact that lambdas are not the 
universally accepted solution, as sad as that may be.

Michael
>
> David
>
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  Prof. Dr. Michael Kohlhase,       Office: Research 1, Room 62
  Professor of Computer Science     Campus Ring 12,
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