%A J. S. Markovitch
%T Coincidence, data compression, and Mach?s concept 
of ?economy of thought? 

%X 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.
%D 2004
%K coincidence
data compression
%L cogprints3667

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