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Coincidence, data compression, and Mach’s concept of “economy of thought”

Markovitch, J. S. (2004) Coincidence, data compression, and Mach’s concept of “economy of thought”. [Preprint]

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Abstract

A case is made that Mach’s principle of “economy of thought”, and therefore usefulness, is related to the compressibility of data, but that a mathematical expression may compress data for reasons that are sometimes coincidental and sometimes not. An expression, therefore, may be sometimes explainable and sometimes not. A method is proposed for distinguishing coincidental data compression from non-coincidental, where this method may serve as a guide in uncovering new mathematical relationships. The method works by producing a probability that a given mathematical expression achieves its compression purely by chance.

Item Type:Preprint
Keywords:coincidence data compression
Subjects:Computer Science > Complexity Theory
Philosophy > Philosophy of Science
ID Code:3667
Deposited By: Markovitch, J. S.
Deposited On:05 Jun 2004
Last Modified:11 Mar 2011 08:55

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