On the Glitch Phenomenon
Abstract
The Principle of the Glitch states that for any device which makes a discrete decision based upon a continuous range of possible inputs, there are inputs for which it will take arbitrarily long to reach a decision. The appropriate mathematical setting for studying this principle is described. This involves defining the concept of continuity for mappings on sets of functions. It can then be shown that the glitch principle follows from the continuous behavior of the device.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1704.01154,
title = {On the Glitch Phenomenon},
author = {Leslie Lamport and Richard Palais},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1704.01154},
year = {2017}
}
Comments
In November 1976, this paper was rejected by the IEEE Transactions on Computers because the engineers who reviewed it could not understand the mathematics. Six years later, the journal apparently acquired more mathematically sophisticated reviewers, and it published a less general result with a more complicated proof