From the principle that subjective dissimilarity between 2 stimuli is determined by their ratio, Fechner derives his logarithmic law in 2 ways. In one derivation, ignored and forgotten in modern accounts of Fechner's theory, he formulates the principle in question as a functional equation and reduces it to one with a known solution. In the other derivation, well known and often criticized, he s...

L ife is complicated. It comes in all sorts of shapes, sizes, places, and combinations, and has evolved a dizzying variety of solutions to the problem of carrying on living. Yet look inside a cell and life takes on, if not simplicity, then at least a certain uniformity—a genetic system based around nucleic acids, for example, and a common set of chemical reactions for turning food into fuel. An...

A. Compositionality is often considered a fundamental principle of semantics for natural language. Yet only fairly recently has there been something of a theory of compositionality which allows to prove actual results. Basically, the lack of progress has been due to an improper understanding of what syntactic and semantic structures actually are. Many linguistic theories in one way or an...