• From: John Cowan <jcowan@r...>
• To: Dan Connolly <connolly@w...>, "xml-dev@x..." <xml-dev@x...>
• Date: Fri, 19 Jan 2001 09:29:19 -0500

Dan Connolly wrote:

> Either
> 	(a) the definitions you have in mind are
> 	ultimately connected to the physical world,
> 	about which there are no logical necessities/certainties;

Just so.

> 	the best tools we have for defining such terms
> 	are very-repeatable experiments.

Terms are not defined by experiment.  I define "gold" as "one or more
atoms of the element whose atomic number is 79"; determining whether
some particular object is or is not gold depends on experiment;
but knowing what gold is, does not.

-- 
There is / one art             || John Cowan <jcowan@r...>
no more / no less              || http://www.reutershealth.com
to do / all things             || http://www.ccil.org/~cowan
with art- / lessness           \\ -- Piet Hein

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