LIRON COHEN

Senior Academic

The Effects of Effects on Constructivism

Liron Cohen, Sofia Abreu Faro, Ross Tate

It is commonly understood that Countable Choice holds constructively due to the underlying computational nature of constructivism. However, in this paper we demonstrate that invoking different notions of computation result in radically different behaviors regarding Countable Choice. In particular, we illustrate that, although deterministic computation guarantees Countable Choice, non-deterministic computation can negate Countable Choice. We then further show that using stateful computation can restore Countable Choice even in the presence of non-determinism. This finding suggests that much of the modern discourse of constructivism assumes a deterministic underlying computational system, despite non-determinism being a fundamental aspect of modern-day computation.

Publication language English
Pages 87-120
Journal Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Science
Volume 347
Publication status Published - 01.01.2019

Keywords

constructivism
countable choice
effects
non-determinism
stateful computation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Theoretical Computer Science
General Computer Science
Other files and links
Link to publication in Scopus