7 ms·

Unlike math, software is constrained by the physical world.

• cvak 2mo ago
  In what sense?
  • zahlman 2mo ago
    For example, pi can be computed to arbitrarily many digits, but could only even in principle be accurately represented with physical objects to a precision that many humans could memorize easily. This is thanks to physical constraints such as "diameter of the observable universe" and "Planck length", at a minimum.
    • Mithriil 1mo ago
      Even if pi is an approximation, it is still representable mathematically. Floating-point arithmetic is an algebra (in this case, a magma [1]), which can be studied mathematically. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magma_(algebra) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magma_(algebra)