Cactus Language, Operator Variables, Reflective Programmability

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antti,

don't have the quanta to point out
the connections right now, but
reflective programmability was
one of the issues that led me
to the cactus language, via
peirce's consideration of
operator variables.

spencer brown noted that a variable -- say x in (x) --
stands for the contemplated absence or presence of
a constant () -- say (x) as () or (()) respectively.

what if you want to contemplate the absence or presence
of the operator (...) in (x), that is, a variation from
x to (x), respectively?

long story short -- it turns out most convenient
to consider an expression like (x, y), letting it
reduce to (x) if y is blank and to x if y is ().

iterating this idea is what leads to the cactus language.

more details all thru the inquiry site ...

jon

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inquiry e-lab: http://stderr.org/pipermail/inquiry/
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