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“In Theory There Is No Difference Between Theory and Practice” (quoteinvestigator.com)
20 points by sohkamyung on April 16, 2018 | hide | past | favorite | 7 comments


> There is one difference. Practice won’t let you forget anything or leave anything out. In theory, problems are easily solved because you can leave something out.

It can also work the other way! Solving an NP-hard problem for the theory means solving it for every case. Solving it for practice means solving it for the cases you'll encounter - which may let you leave some bits out.


Funny to see this here, because my previous post here on HN included that phrase. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16831875



Anyone know what the difference might be?


Yes. Reality... :-)


"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away."


  - Philip K. Dick




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