Re: [stack] Advantages of cat, joy ..?

On Feb 18, 2009, at 3:27 PM, John Cowan wrote:

> Don Groves scripsit:
>
>> Point taken. But your example is faulty. Blowing out the match
>> doesn't reduce to the previous problem as then you no longer
>> have a match! Try it with a cigarette lighter ;-)
>
> A cigarette lighter has only one bit of state (it's on or off), but a
> match has two bits of state: burning or not burning, plus unused or  
> used.
> Once you have flipped the latter bit, there's no way to flop it.
> So a match has *history*, which is what makes it un-mathematical.

Actually, a cigarette lighter has two state bits also. The second bit
tells whether or not there is enough fuel in the lighter for it to light
one more time ;-)
--
don



> -- 
> We are lost, lost.  No name, no business, no Precious, nothing.   
> Only empty.
> Only hungry: yes, we are hungry.  A few little fishes, nassty bony  
> little
> fishes, for a poor creature, and they say death.  So wise they are;  
> so just,
> so very just.  --Gollum        [email protected]  http://ccil.org/~cowan
>
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