Constructor Theory & Optimism

[hibbsa]

Unless I missed it, you didn't expand on why this connection shows up
(which was fair enough given the scope of the paper). I was quite
interested in why the reason might be....the only visualization I could
come up was that you must be envisaging the product of CT as a kind of
network of possible routes of discovery, the optimism being that those
routes are there. Just a stab...but you got any time to expand on that
one a bit?

[Elliot Temple]

Post by hibbsa
Unless I missed it, you didn't expand on why this connection shows up
(which was fair enough given the scope of the paper). I was quite
interested in why the reason might be....the only visualization I could
come up was that you must be envisaging the product of CT as a kind of
network of possible routes of discovery, the optimism being that those
routes are there. Just a stab...but you got any time to expand on that
one a bit?

in boi, dd connects optimism with problems being soluble.

CT is also connected to problems being soluble (via it saying categories of constructions are possible).

-- Elliot Temple
http://fallibleideas.com/

[hibbsa]

Post by Elliot Temple

Post by hibbsa
Unless I missed it, you didn't expand on why this connection shows up
(which was fair enough given the scope of the paper). I was quite
interested in why the reason might be....the only visualization I could
come up was that you must be envisaging the product of CT as a kind of
network of possible routes of discovery, the optimism being that those
routes are there. Just a stab...but you got any time to expand on that
one a bit?

in boi, dd connects optimism with problems being soluble.
CT is also connected to problems being soluble (via it saying categories of constructions are possible).
-- Elliot Temple
http://fallibleideas.com/

This much for sure, but is there a useful theory out there that doesn't say that much as well? Are useful theories that say less than that possible?
I would imagine the optimism thing has to run much deeper for DD to actually see it as a consequence of CT.
Another interesting feature of this - I thought - was that whereas he seems to regard the principles that come out of philosophical/BoI stuff will be fed into the system.....one principle of that set - optimism - emerges independently as a consequence.
I think it would good if more came that way.

[David Deutsch]

Post by hibbsa
Unless I missed it, you didn't expand on why this connection shows up
(which was fair enough given the scope of the paper). I was quite
interested in why the reason might be....the only visualization I could
come up was that you must be envisaging the product of CT as a kind of
network of possible routes of discovery, the optimism being that those
routes are there. Just a stab...but you got any time to expand on that
one a bit?

I don't name this implication 'optimism' in the paper because that word is used in various incompatible ways by philosophers.

It's a fairly direct consequence of the shift from the prevailing conception, which assumes that all fundamental laws are laws distinguishing between what happens and what doesn't happen, to the constructor-theoretic conception which assumes that they distinguish between possible and impossible transformations.

-- David Deutsch