On Sep 29, 2009, at 3:51 PM, Gunther Schadow wrote: (01)
> Matthew West wrote:
>> Dear Ingvar,
>>
>> This sounds like an interesting challenge.
>>
>>> I am as aware of the contents of VIM as of the SI brochure, and
>>> your
>>> "n.b." makes exactly my point. What you might call "newton-meter as
>>> a unit
>>> alone", I prefer to call "nominal newton-meter". However, note that
>>> only
>>> some units can be called nominal units and tied to more than one
>>> kind-of-quantity; many units are unambiguously tied only to one
>>> kind-of-quantity.
>>
>> Could you give me a unit (or two) that you think only applies to one
>> kind-of-quantity, and I'll see if I can identify another?
>>
>> Engineering is full of things like Maximum Allowable Working
>> Temperature, which is certainly not a temperature (try measuring it
>> with
>> a thermometer).
>
>
> Why is maximum allowable temperature not a temperature? (02)
It is a temperature. But its not the temperature OF anything (we hope,
if things are working right.) That is, there is nothing which has that
temperature. In Matthew's overarching ontological framework, that
might mean it doesn't exist (? Matthew, sorry if I get this wrong.) (03)
> Just because
> it isn't realized? It is a temperature specification. It is a quantity
> even if it doesn't exist anywhere at any particular moment in time. (04)
I tend to agree. Quantities (as opposed to things that have them)
should probably be viewed in a Platonic light in any case, like
numbers, so they don't actually have places and moments to exist in.
Even for the most case-hardened nominalists (among which I count
myself), it isn't practical to try to get along without some
abstractions in the universe of discourse. (05)
Pat H. (06)
>
> But of course that is another issue and I still agree that a maximum
> allowable temperature of this machine can not be well compared with
> the water temperature of my pool -- but then they can if the machine
> is meant to go into my pool (which I don't have)
>
> -Gunther
>
>
> --
> Gunther Schadow, M.D., Ph.D. gschadow@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Associate Professor Indiana University School of Informatics
> Regenstrief Institute, Inc. Indiana University School of Medicine
> tel:1(317)423-5521 http://aurora.regenstrief.org
>
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> Message Archives: http://ontolog.cim3.net/forum/uom-ontology-std/
> Subscribe: mailto:uom-ontology-std-join@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Config/Unsubscribe: http://ontolog.cim3.net/mailman/listinfo/uom-ontology-std/
> Shared Files: http://ontolog.cim3.net/file/work/UoM/
> Wiki: http://ontolog.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?UoM_Ontology_Standard
>
> (07)
------------------------------------------------------------
IHMC (850)434 8903 or (650)494 3973
40 South Alcaniz St. (850)202 4416 office
Pensacola (850)202 4440 fax
FL 32502 (850)291 0667 mobile
phayesAT-SIGNihmc.us http://www.ihmc.us/users/phayes (08)
_________________________________________________________________
Message Archives: http://ontolog.cim3.net/forum/uom-ontology-std/
Subscribe: mailto:uom-ontology-std-join@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Config/Unsubscribe: http://ontolog.cim3.net/mailman/listinfo/uom-ontology-std/
Shared Files: http://ontolog.cim3.net/file/work/UoM/
Wiki: http://ontolog.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?UoM_Ontology_Standard (09)
|