In those scenarios, does Half-Ass seem like more of a “thing”?
IDK, but I like the question.
I’d say that what does seem like a thing is [insertion f-sort] where the fraction f is a parameter. Then [insertion 1/2-sort] is like [this particular instance of me picking up my water bottle and taking a drink], and [insertion f-sort] is like [me picking up my water bottle and taking a drink, in general].
Unless there’s something interesting about [insertion 1/2-sort] in particular, like for example if there’s some phase transition at 1⁄2 or something. Then I’d expect that it’s more of a thing (for example, that there’d be further interesting special properties of [insertion 1/2-sort] that we haven’t discovered yet, or that there’d be analogies to other phase transitions).
In the compiler example, the compiler representing N as 2N is more of a thing.
[insertion 1/2-sort] is then a somewhat meaningless coincidence of other meaningful things. You have your symptomatic cluster of phenomena: the CS student complains that a check fails, but when they print out the list, it seems sorted (though only the first part of the list actually printed, before the summarizing ellipsis....), the algorithm is clean and obviously right, etc. There’s some thingness I guess, in that there’s an insight to be had. But it’s a cavern which, when entered, turns out to be pretty clearly two other caverns connected by a tunnel. (I admit that the dynamical story here is unrefined, and I’d be interested in a better picture.)
IDK, but I like the question.
I’d say that what does seem like a thing is [insertion f-sort] where the fraction f is a parameter. Then [insertion 1/2-sort] is like [this particular instance of me picking up my water bottle and taking a drink], and [insertion f-sort] is like [me picking up my water bottle and taking a drink, in general].
Unless there’s something interesting about [insertion 1/2-sort] in particular, like for example if there’s some phase transition at 1⁄2 or something. Then I’d expect that it’s more of a thing (for example, that there’d be further interesting special properties of [insertion 1/2-sort] that we haven’t discovered yet, or that there’d be analogies to other phase transitions).
In the compiler example, the compiler representing N as 2N is more of a thing.
[insertion 1/2-sort] is then a somewhat meaningless coincidence of other meaningful things. You have your symptomatic cluster of phenomena: the CS student complains that a check fails, but when they print out the list, it seems sorted (though only the first part of the list actually printed, before the summarizing ellipsis....), the algorithm is clean and obviously right, etc. There’s some thingness I guess, in that there’s an insight to be had. But it’s a cavern which, when entered, turns out to be pretty clearly two other caverns connected by a tunnel. (I admit that the dynamical story here is unrefined, and I’d be interested in a better picture.)