Appearing in symbolic reasoning tools we have invented doesn't really support them being how brains work, though? This is akin to saying that gears are how nature works because gears are everywhere in how we build things. I could maybe buy that with "friction" being a fundamental thing, but feels like a stretch for the other.
Now, I should add that I did not mean my question to be a criticism of them! I'm genuinely curious on evidence that they are a basic building block. Feels save to say they are a good building block, and those aren't the same thing.
As an easy example for them not being basic building blocks, I can't remember ever seeing anything like them in any assembly instructions for things. Put together a batting net for the kids. Lots of instructions, but nothing algebraic, in this sense. Looking at recipes for food. Nothing algebraic, really? Maybe I can squint and see some, but it would be hard. Exercise plans? Music lessons? Playbooks for a sport?
Again, though, I /do not/ intend this as a criticism of them. Genuinely curious on any investigation into them.
I think you're right to point out that it's too strong a claim to say that sum types are a basic building block of thought, although I believe they are very useful in coding regardless of that claim.
There is the still the ongoing debate about how much human perception and human reason are shaped by cultural forces vs. universal forces (where the latter asserts humans reason in the same/similar ways).
There's evidence that certain optical illusions don't work across cultures for example (I seem to remember those in Western countries have a tendency to mentally group things in rectangular boxes). The exact balance between cultural and universal forces isn't known and I doubt we could say anything about sum types in that regard.
Now, I should add that I did not mean my question to be a criticism of them! I'm genuinely curious on evidence that they are a basic building block. Feels save to say they are a good building block, and those aren't the same thing.
As an easy example for them not being basic building blocks, I can't remember ever seeing anything like them in any assembly instructions for things. Put together a batting net for the kids. Lots of instructions, but nothing algebraic, in this sense. Looking at recipes for food. Nothing algebraic, really? Maybe I can squint and see some, but it would be hard. Exercise plans? Music lessons? Playbooks for a sport?
Again, though, I /do not/ intend this as a criticism of them. Genuinely curious on any investigation into them.