[HN Gopher] Algebraic Semantics for Machine Knitting
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       Algebraic Semantics for Machine Knitting
        
       Author : PaulHoule
       Score  : 165 points
       Date   : 2025-04-22 15:55 UTC (7 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (uwplse.org)
 (TXT) w3m dump (uwplse.org)
        
       | ruined wrote:
       | the formalization of textile programming really brings computer
       | science full-circle. as a neoluddite i approve
        
         | speerer wrote:
         | ...as demonstrated by the analogy in the original post here,
         | where he explains the concrete concept of knitting stitches by
         | reference to the much more abstract concept of garbage
         | collection in computer programming!
        
       | dwlg00 wrote:
       | Braid groups are really interesting, and they also come up in
       | fluid mixing:
       | https://people.math.wisc.edu/~thiffeault/talks/gordon2022.pd...
        
       | bregma wrote:
       | Back in the 1980s I was taking a foundational computer science
       | course in which we derived Goedel's result using Cantor
       | diagonalization. Excellent course. We were watching the TV
       | version of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy at the time, too. One
       | day I had the realization that since any recursively enumerable
       | function could be interpreted as a computer program (given the
       | right interpreter), that the sweater I was wearing was in fact
       | possibly a computer program, and that all knitting (and some
       | crocheting) was in fact just a manifestation of code in another
       | language.
       | 
       | I then went on to realize any enumerable set could be similarly
       | interpreted, including the entire countable population of Earth.
       | And we already had the answer (42), but what was the question?
        
         | gwern wrote:
         | I suppose if nothing else, you could encode Wang tiles
         | (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wang_tile) into knitting and
         | then that's Turing-complete? Or would there be some better CA
         | to encode?
        
         | internet_rand0 wrote:
         | sorry, 42 is not gonna take us much farther
         | 
         | 42 is a stand in for 41 and 43 which are some twin prime
         | 
         | for me to further elaborate on this crazy idea that haunts me
         | (I must admit I also haunt these ideas) requires a twin prime
         | theorem which we are still waiting for in 2025....
        
       | Y_Y wrote:
       | Does anyone know a good emulator for knitting machines? I'd love
       | to play with these programs, but I'd like to get some practice
       | before I start messing with real wool.
        
         | MikeTheGreat wrote:
         | Possibly off-topic, but if you're looking to reduce your costs
         | you should look at acrylic yarn. There's also cotton yarn if
         | you're looking for something less scratchy :)
        
         | camblomquist wrote:
         | Someone else mentioned the acrylic, I'm going to mention
         | Scarlett Sparks' Open Source Knitting Machine if part of the
         | fear is actually investing in the machine
         | https://github.com/ScarlettSparks/KnittingMachine
        
       | kappasan wrote:
       | Speaking of computational knitting, I recently learned about
       | "solid knitting" [1] which is awesome.
       | 
       | https://www.cs.cmu.edu/news/2024/solid-knitting
        
       | WillAdams wrote:
       | Still kicking myself for not buying a "3D Knitted Chisel Roll"
       | back when Lee Valley had them --- last I checked it might have
       | been possible to import one from Europe, but having a hard time
       | justifying that.....
        
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       (page generated 2025-04-22 23:00 UTC)