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From: hensm@csc2.essex.ac.uk (Henson M C)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.functional
Subject: Re: why lambda ?
Summary: lambda in principia
Message-ID: <4808@servax0.essex.ac.uk>
Date: 26 Feb 91 16:21:23 GMT
References: <1952@seti.inria.fr>
Sender: news@servax0.essex.ac.uk
Reply-To: hensm@essex.ac.uk (Henson M C)
Organization: University of Essex, Colchester, UK
Lines: 12

The following I have 'known' for years and years - but I can't remember
who on earth told me. Moreover I have not even checked the reference.
I can't be the only person in the world who believes what follows - if
it's false that will be as interesting to me as it's 'truth' currently is !!!!

.......

In Russell & Whitehead's 'principia' variables which occur in expressions
have a circumflex ^ over them when they appear bound. It seems that at some
point the notation mutated so that the bound variables were introduced with
a larger circumflex - which of course looks like a capital lambda - later a
lower case lambda was used by Church when he developed his calculus.