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> Determinism is unrelated to correctness.

I never said it is. That's why I qualified my example with the word correct.

> no matter what you do, it gives you the same output

This is not deterministic. This is determined. I think this is the confusion I was pointing out.

>> Deterministic means that if it is accurate/correct once, it will continue to be in future runs (unless the correct answer changes; a stopped clock is deterministic).

The bit in the parenthesis, I am trying to argue, is nonsense. If the correct answer changes, the system is not accurate or correct to begin with so the point is moot. Correcting the system will make it accurate. A stopped clock is not deterministic, it's determined. As a time indicator, a stopped clock is not a correct, accurate or deterministic model at all under any possible interpretation.



You pretty clearly think determinism and correctness are related, otherwise why wouldn't a stopped clock be deterministic?

Determinism is about the behavior of a system. Correctness is also about the purpose of a system. A system can have deterministic behavior while being completely unfit for its purpose. And depending on its purpose, it can be fit for purpose while being nondeterministic.


You still seem to see correctness as a prerequisite for determinstic. I’m open to that idea but I really don’t think it’s the case.

I build a box. It has an LCD display. It has a button labeled “what time is it”. You push the button and it always shows “10:43am”. This is a deterministic system.




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