[969] in Public-Access_Computer_Systems_Forum
Boolean
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (DAVID CARLSON)
Tue Aug 11 13:18:37 1992
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1992 11:25:06 CDT
Reply-To: Public-Access Computer Systems Forum <PACS-L%UHUPVM1.BITNET@ricevm1.rice.edu>
From: DAVID CARLSON <carlson@trln.lib.unc.edu>
To: Multiple recipients of list PACS-L <PACS-L%UHUPVM1.BITNET@ricevm1.rice.edu>
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
All this talk of boolean versus natural language reminds me of an Alan King
story. (Now all those who prefer nothing but the solemn and serious in
these lists, please hit that delete key NOW and move on. However, if you
read on, I think you'll find some elements of truth in the humor. Ain't it
always so.)
Anyway, seems Mr. King had a fire; burned down the whole house. So,
naturally, he called his insurance company. They asked him what sort of
insurance policy he had with them. He replied fire and theft. They replied
that was unfortunate because it was the wrong policy. He should have had
fire OR theft. Seems the only way you could get covered under his present
policy was to be robbed *while* your house burns.
It's a funny story, but I think it's at least somewhat instructive. The
fact that the joke can be understood says we all have some sense of what
boolean operators mean and what they are, but our "common" meaning and use
of boolean terms is different from our technical usage of them in
online systems (and insurance policies?).
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David Carlson
Triangle Research Libraries Network
Email: David_Carlson@UNC.EDU
Phone: 919-962-8022 FAX: 919-962-0484
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