annotate categorical/plausible.org_archive @ 2:b4de894a1e2e

initial import
author Robert McIntyre <rlm@mit.edu>
date Fri, 28 Oct 2011 00:03:05 -0700
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rlm@2 1 # -*- mode: org -*-
rlm@2 2
rlm@2 3
rlm@2 4 Archived entries from file /home/r/aurellem/src/categorical/plausible.org
rlm@2 5
rlm@2 6 * Consistent reasoning as a commutative diagram
rlm@2 7 :PROPERTIES:
rlm@2 8 :ARCHIVE_TIME: 2011-07-09 Sat 01:00
rlm@2 9 :ARCHIVE_FILE: ~/aurellem/src/categorical/plausible.org
rlm@2 10 :ARCHIVE_OLPATH: Deductive and inductive posets/Assigning plausibilities to inductive posets
rlm@2 11 :ARCHIVE_CATEGORY: plausible
rlm@2 12 :END:
rlm@2 13 Inductive categories enable the following neat trick: we can interpret
rlm@2 14 the objects of \(P^*\) as states of given information and interpret
rlm@2 15 each arrow \(a\rightarrow ab\) in \(P^*\) as an inductive inference: the arrow
rlm@2 16 \(a\rightarrow ab\) represents an inferential leap from the state of
rlm@2 17 knowledge where only \(a\) is given to the state of knowledge where
rlm@2 18 both \(a\) and \(b\) are given\mdash{} in this way, it represents
rlm@2 19 the process of inferring \(b\) when given \(a\), and we label the
rlm@2 20 arrow with \((b|a)\).
rlm@2 21
rlm@2 22 This trick has several important features that suggest its usefulness,
rlm@2 23 namely
rlm@2 24 - Composition of arrows corresponds to compound inference.
rlm@2 25 - In the special case of deductive inference, the inferential arrow is an
rlm@2 26 identity; the source and destination states of knowledge are the same.
rlm@2 27 - One aspect of the consistency requirement of Jaynes[fn:1] takes the form of a
rlm@2 28 commutative square: \(x\rightarrow ax \rightarrow abx\) =
rlm@2 29 \(x\rightarrow bx \rightarrow abx\) is the categorified version of
rlm@2 30 \((AB|X)=(A|X)\cdot(B|AX)=(B|X)\cdot(A|BX)\).
rlm@2 31 - We can make plausibility assignments by enriching the inductive
rlm@2 32 category \(P^*\) over some monoidal category, e.g. the set of real numbers
rlm@2 33 (considered as a category) with its usual multiplication. /When we do/,
rlm@2 34 the identity arrows of \(P^*\) \mdash{}corresponding to
rlm@2 35 deductive inferences\mdash{} are assigned a value of certainty automatically.
rlm@2 36
rlm@2 37 [fn:1] /(IIIa) If a conclusion can be reasoned out in more than one
rlm@2 38 way, then every possible way must lead to the same result./
rlm@2 39
rlm@2 40