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Re: [ontolog-forum] Common Logic Controlled English (CLCE)

To: "John F. Sowa" <sowa@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: "[ontolog-forum] " <ontolog-forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
From: "Horning, Jim" <Jim.Horning@xxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2007 13:39:58 -0700
Message-id: <07DE34877A2D084F872D43939AE59DC074C8A8@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
John,    (01)

Reading this, a thought popped into my head: If every employee directly
reports to a manager, who does the CEO directly report to?  Not the
Board, because it is not an employee.  There's probably a constraint
somewhere against cycles in the reporting graph, so not to him/herself.
Is directly reports a partial function?    (02)

My general unease with CLCE--whose goals I applaud--is that it may be
entirely too easy for readers to apply common sense and common usage of
words--when the CLCE statement includes neither--thereby drawing
unintended conclusions.  ("It's not what we don't know that hurts, it's
what we know that ain't so.")  Hopefully, not an insoluble problem, but
definitely a difficult one.    (03)

I trust that you are familiar with I.D. Hill's wonderful paper "Wouldn't
it be nice if we could write computer programs in ordinary English--or
would it?"  BCS, The Computer Bulletin, vol. 16, no. 6, June 1972, pp.
306--312.  In Neville Holmes' words, "It's a pity that [this] splendid
article ... has not been more widely read."  I can't even locate an
online copy.    (04)

Near the end, Hill says, "I agree that it is desirable that people
should be able to approach a computer without having to 'change gear'.
But I would start at the other end--not teaching computers English, but
teaching people to communicate with each other (NOT in ordinary
conversation, but only when giving instructions) in a more precise way."
I take that to also be one of your goals?    (05)

Jim H.    (06)

-----Original Message-----
From: ontolog-forum-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:ontolog-forum-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of John F.
Sowa
Sent: Saturday, March 17, 2007 8:36 AM
To: [ontolog-forum]
Subject: [ontolog-forum] Common Logic Controlled English (CLCE)    (07)

[snip]    (08)

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