1. Forum
  2. Usenet
  3. COMP.THEORY

  • Olcott's Category Error

    From Mr Flibble@21:1/5 to All on Sat May 31 19:11:03 2025
    Olcott is doing this:

    int main()
    {
    DDD(); // DDD calls HHH
    }

    This is incorrect as it is a category (type) error in the form of
    conflation of the EXECUTION of DDD with the SIMULATION of DDD: to
    completely and correctly simulate/analyse DDD there must be no execution
    of DDD prior to the simulation of DDD.

    Olcott should be doing this:

    int main()
    {
    HHH(DDD);
    }

    /Flibble

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Richard Damon@21:1/5 to Mr Flibble on Sat May 31 22:07:01 2025
    On 5/31/25 3:11 PM, Mr Flibble wrote:
    Olcott is doing this:

    int main()
    {
    DDD(); // DDD calls HHH
    }

    This is incorrect as it is a category (type) error in the form of
    conflation of the EXECUTION of DDD with the SIMULATION of DDD: to
    completely and correctly simulate/analyse DDD there must be no execution
    of DDD prior to the simulation of DDD.


    Why?

    The quetion to HHH is about an input that is just a representation of
    the program DDD, and if HHH is a progran, its behavior and answer is independent of the context outside of it that is calling it.

    Olcott should be doing this:

    int main()
    {
    HHH(DDD);
    }

    /Flibble

    He does that, but the TEST of that answer is to independently run DDD(),
    since it is the behavior of that which is the criteria that HHH is
    supposed to be answering about.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Mikko@21:1/5 to Mr Flibble on Sun Jun 1 14:16:25 2025
    On 2025-05-31 19:11:03 +0000, Mr Flibble said:

    Olcott is doing this:

    int main()
    {
    DDD(); // DDD calls HHH
    }

    This is incorrect as it is a category (type) error in the form of
    conflation of the EXECUTION of DDD with the SIMULATION of DDD: to
    completely and correctly simulate/analyse DDD there must be no execution
    of DDD prior to the simulation of DDD.

    There is no category error in the above program. It is a confoming (at
    least to an old standard) C program. It is not strictly confroming but
    that is not relevant here, and rarely is anyway.

    The question whether the above main halts is well-posed and an exection
    of the program tells that main halts, impying that DDD halts, too, as
    well as HHH(DDD) that DDD calls.

    Olcott should be doing this:

    int main()
    {
    HHH(DDD);
    }

    Not useful as main does not report what HHH decided.

    --
    Mikko

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Richard Damon@21:1/5 to Mikko on Sun Jun 1 21:14:15 2025
    On 6/1/25 7:16 AM, Mikko wrote:
    On 2025-05-31 19:11:03 +0000, Mr Flibble said:

    Olcott is doing this:

    int main()
    {
       DDD(); // DDD calls HHH
    }

    This is incorrect as it is a category (type) error in the form of
    conflation of the EXECUTION of DDD with the SIMULATION of DDD: to
    completely and correctly simulate/analyse DDD there must be no execution
    of DDD prior to the simulation of DDD.

    There is no category error in the above program. It is a confoming (at
    least to an old standard) C program. It is not strictly confroming but
    that is not relevant here, and rarely is anyway.

    Actually, the progrm above is NOT a conform C program, as it calls an
    underined function HHH.

    If you include the file Halt7.c, we get a program, but now HHH is
    defined, and can't be anything else, and thus the rest of Olcott's
    problem becomes an error by having multiple definitions for the function
    HHH.


    The question whether the above main halts is well-posed and an exection
    of the program tells that main halts, impying that DDD halts, too, as
    well as HHH(DDD) that DDD calls.

    Olcott should be doing this:

    int main()
    {
       HHH(DDD);
    }

    Not useful as main does not report what HHH decided.


    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)