John, (01)
John F. Sowa wrote:
<snip> (02)
> 3. Therefore, it requires great effort for people to write
> with precision in their native language. It can be done,
> but only when a computer is present to bark at them whenever
> they make the inevitable errors or ambiguities.
>
> 4. Consequently, training in a less tolerant language, such
> as symbolic logic or a programming language, is necessary
> to help people see how much work needs to be done to state
> everything with the utmost of precision.
>
>
>
Hmmm, but that seems to presume that the limitations of symbolic logic
or a programming language are the gage for expression with precision. (03)
Granted if the goal is to reduce the richness of human expression to
something that can be processed by a less expressive language I suppose
that is an appropriate measure. (04)
Is it your contention that "everything" stated in a more expressive
language can be captured in a less expressive one? (05)
You seem to accept that ambiguity is a feature of natural languages that
people process without difficulty. But that is weeded out in the
translation to a less expressive one. So a less expressive language does
not appear to express "everything" found in a more expressive one. (06)
Granted that a lot of progress has been made in processing less
expressive languages but is that any reason to move the goal posts as it
were to declare victory because by redefining the problem a solution can
be produced? Not that those solutions aren't useful but I am troubled
that natural languages and their richness is viewed as somehow defective
or less than useful simply because they are not amenable to current
techniques. (07)
Hope you are having a great day! (08)
Patrick (09)
--
Patrick Durusau
Patrick@xxxxxxxxxxx
Chair, V1 - Text Processing: Office and Publishing Systems Interface
Co-Editor, ISO 13250, Topic Maps -- Reference Model
Member, Text Encoding Initiative Board of Directors, 2003-2005 (010)
Topic Maps: Human, not artificial, intelligence at work! (011)
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