Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ucbvax!SPAR-20.ARPA!HAYES From: HAYES@SPAR-20.ARPA.UUCP Newsgroups: comp.ai.digest Subject: Re: AIList Digest V5 #170 Message-ID: <12316303944.43.HAYES@SPAR-20.ARPA> Date: Mon, 6-Jul-87 19:18:12 EDT Article-I.D.: SPAR-20.12316303944.43.HAYES Posted: Mon Jul 6 19:18:12 1987 Date-Received: Sat, 11-Jul-87 13:46:47 EDT References:Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU Distribution: world Organization: The ARPA Internet Lines: 25 Approved: ailist@stripe.sri.com Talk about walking into a minefield, but here goes. Concerning the Harnad grounding problem. This is lovely stuff, and I save every word for later reading, but it does seem recently to have gone from interesting discussions and arguments to a rather repetitive grinding over the main points again and again. THe result is that Stevan is reduced to repeating himself and reiterating his points in the face of what must seem to him to be increasing stubbornness. I seem to be seeing more and more phrases like '..as I have emphasised earlier..'. All of us who teach are familiar with the syndrome where the 35th occurrence of the same error makes us more exasperated than the first one did. Let me suggest that perhaps nothing much new is being said in these discussions any more, and certainly no-one is saying anything which is going to cause Stevan to change any of his positions. Perhaps the right thing to do is for people to send their comments directly to Harnad, and for him to send us the selections which HE considers worth public airing, together with his responses. That way we will be spared reading all this stuff which is, apparently, of such low intellectual caliber, and Laws will have an easier time, and public feelings will not get to the point which produces letters like David Harwood's. Just an idea. Pat Hayes -------