The tools and systems designed to manipulate abstract symbols according to strict rules, enabling everything from simple arithmetic to complex computer programs. This includes calculators (slaves to the algorithm), programming languages (formal systems that are surprisingly forgiving of missing semicolons), and the humble spreadsheet, which has launched a thousand careers and caused a thousand nervous breakdowns when someone sorted the wrong column. Formal technologies give us power over abstraction, which we primarily use to make pretty charts about things that don't matter.
Example: "She used formal technologies to build a complex financial model that predicted market trends with 95% accuracy. Unfortunately, the model was based on historical data, and the market, not being a formal system, promptly did something unpredictable and made all her charts wrong. She blamed the model; the model blamed reality."
by Abzugal February 14, 2026
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