Difference between revisions of "Talk:Flip-flop (disambiguation)"

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(Created page with "If there is the first element in the list then why is there even the second and third ones lmao ~~~~")
 
m (Completeness vs. consistency: the LifeWiki doesn't try to produce a One True Definition when there are conflicting options. That way madness lies.)
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If there is the first element in the list then why is there even the second and third ones lmao
If there is the first element in the list then why is there even the second and third ones lmao
[[User:Testitemqlstudop|Testitemqlstudop]] ([[User talk:Testitemqlstudop|talk]]) 10:27, 15 October 2019 (UTC)
[[User:Testitemqlstudop|Testitemqlstudop]] ([[User talk:Testitemqlstudop|talk]]) 10:27, 15 October 2019 (UTC)
: The LifeWiki tends to document existing usage of terms; historical accuracy is generally a worthwhile goal, whereas complete consistency is sometimes impossible.  In this case, someone who runs into a mention of "flip-flop" should ideally be able to look it up on the LifeWiki and find a workable definition.
: In this case, early uses of "flip-flop" (maybe on LIFELINE or by Conway Himself, I haven't gone back and looked) might have meant just any p2 oscillator, when relatively few p2s were known. But a decade or two later, the use of "flip-flop" evolved to refer to p2-oscillator-plus-some-extra-criterion.  All of these conflicting definitions have been used, and there isn't just one "correct" one so it's best if they're all documented. [[User:Dvgrn|Dvgrn]] ([[User talk:Dvgrn|talk]])

Revision as of 17:33, 15 October 2019

If there is the first element in the list then why is there even the second and third ones lmao Testitemqlstudop (talk) 10:27, 15 October 2019 (UTC)

The LifeWiki tends to document existing usage of terms; historical accuracy is generally a worthwhile goal, whereas complete consistency is sometimes impossible. In this case, someone who runs into a mention of "flip-flop" should ideally be able to look it up on the LifeWiki and find a workable definition.
In this case, early uses of "flip-flop" (maybe on LIFELINE or by Conway Himself, I haven't gone back and looked) might have meant just any p2 oscillator, when relatively few p2s were known. But a decade or two later, the use of "flip-flop" evolved to refer to p2-oscillator-plus-some-extra-criterion. All of these conflicting definitions have been used, and there isn't just one "correct" one so it's best if they're all documented. Dvgrn (talk)