On Sat, May 10, 2008 at 12:48 PM, Stan Nilsen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I'm not understanding why an *explanation* would be ambiguous? If I have a > process / function that consistently transforms x into y, then doesn't the > process serve as a non-ambiguous explanation of how y came into being? > (presuming this is the thing to be explained.)
The English word "explanation" means an awful lot of different things in different contexts, or even by different speakers in the same context. Consider for example a function that produces something funky, like the Mandelbrot Set, or the R pentomino in Conway's Life, or a Busy Beaver candidate. Show it to someone and they might ask you to explain why the results are as they are. But you've already shown them the function, so clearly by "explanation" they mean something else. ------------------------------------------- agi Archives: http://www.listbox.com/member/archive/303/=now RSS Feed: http://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/303/ Modify Your Subscription: http://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=8660244&id_secret=101455710-f059c4 Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com
