A Theory of Patches

David Roundy in his "Theory of Patches" writes:

I think a little background on the author is in order. I am a physicist, and think like a physicist. The proofs and theorems given here are what I would call ``physicist'' proofs and theorems, which is to say that while the proofs may not be rigorous, they are practical, and the theorems are intended to give physical insight. It would be great to have a mathematician work on this, but I am not a mathematician, and don't care for math.

Although I'm not a physicist (the right to be called one is reserved for Ph.D.s), I share the same core training and ultimately the same mind set. Anyway, I'm quite amused to read the authors theory and it's slant towards quantum mechanics. Incidentally, Coplien had a piece on design patterns and symmetry breaking. Stew these two theories in a pot and you could end up with a hand-waving theory for refactoring to patterns. Anyway, does this mean that the correct algebra for patches is non-abelian?!