FREE LUNCH OR NO FREE LUNCH: THAT IS NOT JUST A QUESTION?

Reinterpreting No Free Lunch

Abstract Since its inception, the "No Free Lunch" theorem (NFL) has concerned the application of symmetry results rather than the symmetries themselves. In our view, the conflation of result and application obscures the simplicity, generality, and power of the symmetries involved. This paper separates result from application, focusing on and clarifying the nature of underlying symmetries. The r...

No Free Lunch

Some philosophers (see (Armstrong, 1997), (Cameron, 2008), (Melia, 2005), and (Schaffer, 2007, 2009, 2010a)) have recently suggested that explanations of a certain sort can mitigate our ontological commitments. The explanations in question, grounding explanations, are those that tell us what it is in virtue of which an entity exists and has the features it does. These philosophers claim that th...

There is no free lunch--really.

No such thing as a free lunch.

conomists love to say that there is no such thing as a free lunch. But the Chilean government agency responsible for school grants, Junta Nacional de Auxilio Escolar y Becas (JUNAEB), is an exception to the rule. During the school year, JUNAEB provides breakfast and lunch for 2 million children in primary and secondary public schools. In a developing country where about 14 percent of children u...

Free Lunch

In the world of digital imaging and digitisation the current ubiquity of large proprietary brands can sometimes be seen as a hindrance when considering embarking on a digitisation project. Within digitisation, the issue of digital preservation is a constant reminder of the vulnerability of our digital assets and it is possibly this ubiquity of proprietary software and formats that is seen as be...