Tuples: The Universe’s Gift to Structured Chaos

In Which We Discover That Order Matters, But Only Sometimes

Tuples, dear reader, are what happens when the universe decides that complete anarchy isn’t quite working out and perhaps a bit of light organization might be in order—but not too much, mind you. We wouldn’t want to get carried away with all that structure business.

A tuple is, in essence, a fixed-size container for holding a precise number of things that have absolutely no obligation to be related to each other in any meaningful way whatsoever. It’s rather like a very small filing cabinet where one drawer contains your tax returns, another contains a half-eaten sandwich, and a third contains the complete works of Shakespeare rendered in interpretive dance notation. The important bit is that you know exactly how many drawers you have, even if you haven’t the foggiest idea what’s actually in them.