Programming Research Group Research Report RR-04-05

Keye Martin

April 2004, 15pp.

Abstract

We connect the Bayesian order on classical states to a certain Lie algebra on C8[0,1]. This special Lie algebra structure, made precise by an idea we introduce called a Wronski bracket, suggests new phenomena the Bayesian order naturally models. We then study Wronski brackets on associative algebras, and in the commutative case, discover the beautiful result that they are equivalent to derivations. These ideas are illustrated with the postdoc ferris wheel, the closest we have come thus far to fusing mathematics with important commentary in an inseperable way.