Take a triangle, any triangle. There is, modulo congruence, only one triangle with sides with the lengths of the original triangle.
Take a quadrilateral. There are infinitely many quadrilaterals with sides with the lengths of the original. --- Frank C. Wimberly 140 Calle Ojo Feliz, Santa Fe, NM 87505 505 670-9918 Santa Fe, NM On Wed, Mar 17, 2021, 1:06 PM <[email protected]> wrote: > Wimsatt defined an emergent property of X as any property of X that arises > from the configuration or the order of assembly of the components of X. > One of the reasons that programming fascinates me is that it reeks with > emergence in this very sence. It’s like cake-making in that regard: order > is essential. Now others have attempted to define emergence by the wonder > it provokes: definitions like, “an emergent trait of a collection is one > that cannot be explained solely on the basis of the properties of the items > collected. So, now, I am thinking, “Gee, suddenly this is beginning to > sound like the philosophy of mind.” > > > > *So, that makes me think of writing an essay (or sitting around and > applauding while one of you writes an essay) entitled: “TRIANGULARITY: The > Hard Problem. Such an essay would begin with a recipe for a triangle, an > algorithm for its demonstration. Ingredients: 4 2’ long 1 x 2’s; 3 2” > hinges, with removable pins. Screws to fit. Drill. Directions: Remove > pins from hinges and screw hinges to the ends of three of the 1x2’s. > Assemble triangle and pin hinges. Note how resistant that structure is > against deformation. Now, attach the remaining hinge to the ends of the > remaining 1x2. Unpin one of the hinges of the triangle and insert the 4th > 1x2. Note that the resulting structure is entirely deformable, floppy > even. Finally, spend two millennia wondering about the ineffability of > triangularity… or not. * > > ‘ > > Nick > > Nick Thompson > > [email protected] > > https://wordpress.clarku.edu/nthompson/ > > > - .... . -..-. . -. -.. -..-. .. ... -..-. .... . .-. . > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Zoom Fridays 9:30a-12p Mtn GMT-6 bit.ly/virtualfriam > un/subscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com > FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ > archives: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/ >
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