SUO: RE: Predicates Ostensibly Expressing Taxonomies (POET's)
Dear John,
This point of yours is REALLY important.
> I must also confess that I accidentally typed S instead of p
> in the second line of the following point in my previous note:
>
> >> 1. Is that set S a definition of the predicate p?
> >> If so, then that is a definition of S by extension.
>
> I intended to say that the set S defines the predicate p
> by extension (and the predicate p could be used to define S
> by intension).
>
> In any case, I inadvertently illustrated another very important
> principle: the use of variables in mathematics can be much
> more precise and unambiguous than the use of pronouns in
> ordinary language. That is why I used the letters p and S
> instead ordinary pronouns. But by my typo, I ended up saying
> something very precise that is not what I intended.
>
> That is a fundamental weakness of every formal notation,
> including every programming language: what they say so
> precisely may be totally different from what the author
> intended to say. That is why I recommend bilingual
> specifications in both SUO-KIF and SUO-CE -- they help
> catch possible typos by the author and misinterpretations
> by the reader.
>
> John Sowa
>
Regards
Matthew
============================================
Matthew West
Operations & Asset Management
Shell Services International
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E-mail: Matthew.R.West@is.shell.com
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