Re: [Patents] Software is not hardware, social sciences are not natural sciences.

[Russell McOrmond <russell@flora.ca>]

On Thu, 11 Mar 2004, Jonas Maebe wrote:

> On 11 mrt 2004, at 01:14, Gregory Aharonian wrote:
> 
> > Software is an application of the sciences of mathematics and physics.
> 
> Software is only mathematics, not physics. That's why the 
> Hoare-calculus exists (a purely mathematical model to which you can 
> transcribe every computer program, often used for verification of 
> correctness), but no Newtonian or relativity software model.

  Would you suggest that economics is only mathematics?

  I think there is more to software than just mathematics.  Yes it is
represented using numbers and symbols which is part of how mathematics are
defined, but believe there is more to it than that.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=mathematics

"The study of the measurement, properties, and relationships of quantities
and sets, using numbers and symbols."

  I guess the main point in the context of this conversation is that it
isn't an application of natural sciences, but of social sciences which we
don't try to apply statutory monopolies.  Even if software is just
mathematics, mathematics is not patentable either, and for good reason.

> Jonas
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