"gregjohn" <pte### [at] yahoocom> wrote

> I heard on a math contest the fact that all programs are essentially just
big
> numbers.  The compiled binary or even the ASCII for the source may
ultimately
> be thought of as just some really big, unique number.  When you buy
software,
> they tell you what the number is.

True (provided we are careful how to specify the number). By the same token,
all humans are a bunch of particles. These observations are cornerstones of
scientific domains, but ultimately vacuous if you wish to draw legal or
moral conclusions. The latter, for instance, doesn't mean that merely
breaking some molecular bonds is never a big deal.

> I was just imagining a scifi novel where The Man has complete control over
> people's computers and the only way to share software (legally/ illegally)
is
> to load your car up with bb pellets.  The Man doesn't stop cars and
doesn't
> think to check for bb's.   Once you get to the destination, you count
bb's, and
> viola, sofware is shared.

Reminds me of the "alien stick" story (don't know if there's a proper name):
An alien visits earth but, as it happens, forgets to bring any recording
media. So it calculates a fraction corresponding to all the knowledge it
gathers about humanity, notches  a stick at exactly that point, and takes
the single stick to the home planet.

Change the stick to number of pellets, air pressure in a birthday balloon,
whiskey level in a flask... etc

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