Software and Math

Ari4 thoughts on software:

Software is best seen as a service, not as a product.

Open source is better, all else being equal.

Reasonable profits are good.

Complexity is an enemy.

A spreadsheet is often a database table lacking a primary key.

It is best to keep data processing close to the data.

Correlation does not imply causation.

Isomorphism does not imply computability.

If the goals above keep conflicting, take a break!

Category Theory. 

Constructive category theory summary, noted 8/19.  

arxiv.org/pdf/1908.04132.pdf

Reflection principles in the category of sets are equivalent to induction over well-ordered sets. (9/19)

arxiv.org/pdf/1909.00677.pdf

Broad category theoretic study of history and recent results in computability theory.  Section 3 includes equivalence classes of proofs; 3.8 introduces topoi, exploring relationships between them and formal languages. Freyd gluing techniques are introduced in 4.4. Classical type theory and non-standard type theory may require consideration in separate categories.  (1/20) 

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2001.05778.pdf 

Zorn's Lemma helps show connections between model theory, proof theory and programming. Intuitionistic and constructivist contributions are noted.

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2001.03540.pdf

Category theory applied to statistical analysis, results in Python and R. (noted 6/20)  Cartesian closed categories are central in this analysis. A strict distinction between 'data type' and 'set' is observed. An ontology is a cartesian closed category with implicit (type and subtype) conversion, given by a finite presentation. Statistical models become viewable as models in mathematical logic, a 'structuralist conception of statistics.' If arbitrary morphism equations are allowed, the word problem becomes undecidable. Connections with lambda calculus and functional computing are noted. Limitations of automation are noted. Non-convergent statistical algorithms may pose issues for defining morphisms. Adjunctions and isomorphism classes are suggested for future work. 'At its most successful, ideas that were once the exclusive province of philosophy are transformed into actionable scientific methodology.'  Includes extensive bibliography. 

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2006.08945.pdf


Evidence for connections between logic and (machine) learning, noted 6/20. The old tension between deduction and induction is still active. Includes summaries of recent issues in continuous vs discrete, infinite vs finite, and deterministic vs non-deterministic procedures. 

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2006.08480.pdf


Other items of current interest. 

Benford's Law (2019)

arxiv.org/pdf/1909.07527.pdf

Probability Logic, a recent effort. (2019)

 https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1910/1910.06624.pdf

 Algorithms for Beauty?

 https://arxiv.org/pdf/1910.06088.pdf

 Logic:  interesting and useful recent completeness results.  IMO K is a pretty strong assumption in a constructivist framework. The proofs themselves rely extensively on non-constructive elementary logic.  Some things just never get old!  (2019)

 https://arxiv.org/pdf/1910.01697.pdf

 https://arxiv.org/pdf/1910.00907.pdf

 Amazing game-theoretic approach to welfare distribution. It helps illuminate several problems with socialism:  the large economy is usually not decomposable into tractable sub-economies. Envy-free solutions in general contradict full decomposability. Adverse selection (IMO in Joseph Stiglitz’ sense) is still an issue.  (2019) 

https://arxiv.org/pdf/1909.11346.pdf

Envy:  I would suggest that we cannot defeat it by using the closed preference sets assumption.  In economics this would imply that every situation of resource consumption is zero-sum. Also, as at the end of this paper, the importance of individual leadership is minimized. (1/20)

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2001.03327.pdf 

God as Ultrafilter?  LOL!   I can't help remembering Elizabeth Anscombe echoing Kant about the existence of God: ‘That is not the sort of thing you prove!’  I like to imagine her debating St. Anselm of Canterbury and St. Thomas Aquinas about this.  With Karl Barth and Kurt Goedel in the audience taking copious notes?  At any rate, this remarkable paper shows interesting and helpful results about reducibility of modal logic and reasoning to first order calculus. (12/19)

https://arxiv.org/pdf/1910.08955.pdf

Structure Theory: recent results in 2019. 

https://arxiv.org/pdf/1910.10811.pdf

Recent results on orthostatic intolerance (med x stat).  (2019) 

https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1910/1910.10332.pdf

 

Intuitionistic math:  good summary and recent results.  Also a constructivist re-presentation of work of Brouwer, Skolem and Lowenheim.  (2019)

https://arxiv.org/pdf/1911.09477.pdf

Intuitionistic logic:   more history.  Although it may have a dubious metaphysical provenance,  it seems to help enforce very conservative procedures for managing computer memory. 

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/intuitionistic-logic-development

https://projecteuclid.org/download/pdf_1/euclid.ndjfl/1093958744

https://books.google.com/books?id=ah2bwOwc06MC&pg=PA271&lpg=PA271&dq=heyting+spread&source=bl&ots=dflNNUxi_c&sig=ACfU3U27rIGNCTv3uVuPWoMKFab1H_nGKw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwir-oPVqYbmAhUPQK0KHYwFCPM4ChDoATAIegQICBAB#v=onepage&q=heyting%20spread&f=false

 

Intuitionism and Constructivism, noted 3/2020.

Intuitionistic Math and Logic, Brouwer vs. Russell. A good history of the foundations of constructivism. Choice sequences and spreads replace sets. Intuitionistic/constructivist equality is undecidable. Many-oneness is the best basis for mathematical activity. Verification that a mathematical object has a property requires a construction. Homomorphisms are noted between finitely branching spreads (fans) and important structures of finite model theory.  All embeddable in a topos? These authors conclude that these concepts can be valuable extensions of classical math. 

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2003.01935.pdf

https://arxiv.org/pdf/1808.00383.pdf

Constructive logical analysis of differential equations. Singularity in the sphere = Brouwer's Fixed Point? 

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2003.00740.pdf

Infinitesimals turn up in unexpected places. Cauchy as a proto-constructivist? 

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2003.00438.pdf

This short paper suggests roots of non-standard analysis in Leibniz and Aristotle. 

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2002.12451.pdf


AI, noted 3/2020. 

Kolmogorov complexity of computer file generators is not computable, shown by reduction arguments. Heuristic workarounds are discussed.  All seem to support the claim that most AI adds to code bloat without corresponding real world payoff. 

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2002.07674.pdf

Logic, noted 5/2020. 

Beyond Sets With Atoms:  Definability in First-Order Logic. 

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2003.04803.pdf

This recent approach to Hilbert's Tenth Problem (1900), how to formalize the undecidability of solvability of Diophantine equations, includes reference to a library of undecidable problems. 

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2003.04604.pdf

For engineering, interesting categories have morphisms and objects whose costs can be minimized.

Peter P. Chen

https://bit.csc.lsu.edu/~chen/chen.html

https://resources.sei.cmu.edu/library/author.cfm?authorID=4803

Data Model as an Architectural View.

https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a512388.pdf

References and free eBooks:

Tweets on recent subjects. 

Machine Learning. 

https://twitter.com/ML_Tweet_Bot


Teleology in Logic.  You can almost see Prof. Serre's mind work!