Leslie Lamport revolutionized computer science with math [video]
One of the most interesting results I found in Leslie Lamport&#x27;s papers is <i>Buridan&#x27;s Principle</i>:<p><i>A discrete decision based upon an input having a continuous range of values cannot be made within a bounded length of time.</i><p>Quoting from <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;lamport.azurewebsites.net&#x2F;pubs&#x2F;buridan.pdf" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;lamport.azurewebsites.net&#x2F;pubs&#x2F;buridan.pdf</a>:<p><i>&quot;The significance of Buridan’s Principle lies in its warning that decisions
may, in rare circumstances, take much longer than expected. Before the
problem was recognized by computer designers, some computer systems
probably failed regularly (perhaps once or twice a week) because arbiters
took longer than expected to reach a decision. Real accidents may occur because people cannot decide in time which of two alternative actions to take,
even though either would prevent the accident. Although Buridan’s Principle
implies that the possibility of such an accident cannot be eliminated,
awareness of the problem could lead to methods for reducing its probability.&quot;</i><p>In the accompanying notes at <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;lamport.azurewebsites.net&#x2F;pubs&#x2F;pubs.html" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;lamport.azurewebsites.net&#x2F;pubs&#x2F;pubs.html</a>, Lamport states:<p><i>The four reviews ranged from &quot;This well-written paper is of major philosophical importance&quot; to &quot;This may be an elaborate joke.&quot; One of the other reviews was more mildly positive, and the fourth said simply &quot;My feeling is that it is rather superficial.&quot; The paper was rejected.</i>