There is this thing - 'universal construction'

The problem of bugs in software is an ongoing problem across all IT industries. For application that are safety critical we are still reminded of the risk implications and consequences if bugs are software is not tested and bugs - errors identified and corrected.

Back in the 90s during BA(Joint Hons. Philosophy & Computing) studies, I was introduced to the formal specification language 'Z'. It was designed for definition, and modelling of computer software, working from specification to implementation, as per these images:

https://personalpages.bradley.edu/~young/CS592M120_OLD/handoutZed.pdf

https://personalpages.bradley.edu/~young/CS592M120_OLD/handoutZed.pdf

To be clear I've never worked as part of a software project and my 'tinkering' - Drupal, Pharo, online groups, hosting platform - reveals how the development stack and work processes have developed apace. The challenge is keeping up. Simultaneously, there is the sense of being on the bank of deep water; or, a vertiginous cliff:

A little learning is a dang’rous thing;
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring:
There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain,
And drinking largely sobers us again.
Fir’d at first sight with what the Muse imparts,
In fearless youth we tempt the heights of arts,
While from the bounded level of our mind,
Short views we take, nor see the lengths behind,
But more advanc’d, behold with strange surprise
New, distant scenes of endless science rise! 

Pope. https://interestingliterature.com/2021/09/a-little-learning-is-a-dangerous-thing-meaning-analysis-origin/

 Acknowledging the need for an 'evidence-base' and theoretical underpinning the effort to 'push' Hodges' model forward is ongoing. Maths remains an alien territory to me, but the 'secret garden' is as tantalizing as ever. Over the years I have posted - with much overlap about:

• maths
• relation
• logic

- and more recently:

• isomorphism
• category theory
• and as previously posted - laws of form.

In an effort to get to grips with the above, I'm following various online videos, books and papers. Bartosz Milewski's videos, blog and publications are aimed at programmers, but are very interesting nonetheless. The first video provides an introduction to the motivation and philosophy of category theory. In another, Milewski refers to 'universal construction' on YouTube and in a blog post about 'Function Types'.

The 'universal' figures in healthcare too: universal health access, and universal health coverage appear to over-shadow 'universal health care'. The quality of 'universal' also creeps into assessment. Data gathering is not merely complete, it is comprehensive. It has to be, to contribute not just to a care plan, for one that is (supposedly) person-centred, with risks identified, strengths, weaknesses - needs, history, social network, and much more. The care plan informs and orchestrates the interventions; then evaluation follows. Are we delivering? What is the patient's (client's, carer's) level of satisfaction. Have care stages and actions been completed as per policy (in time!)? (More on this to follow later this year in light of UK mental health/illness news.)

So as I consider (wrestle with...) initial, and terminal objects, sets and categories … I can hopefully, especially with help, extend the number of posts tagged 'universal' here on W2tQ. In this vein, is Hodges' model a universal construction? There may not be a universal truth to reveal, but it will prove a marvellous learning journey.