Alt-BEAM Archive
Message #05187
To: beam@sgiblab.sgi.com
From: "George Rix" rix.g@bmts.com
Date: Fri, 09 Jul 1999 07:24:23 -0400
Subject: [alt-beam] Re: Someting funny with the subject line? was Something
> I suppose using the dictionary definition is totally pointless?
> A photovore it not alive, so its not performing any task at all.
> But this is easy to fix, there is no need to replace the real definition
> of a robot with our personal opinions of what a robot should be.
You know what I mean. It's task is to keep itself functioning (check your
thesaurus, a very rough synonym is alive).
>> > But BEAM overlooks this a bit.
>
>> How? It is performing a task, and that makes it a robot. If you want to =
be
>> more general, a power drill is a robot, because it performs a task, and =
you
>> don't have to do anything more than aim it and turn it on.
>
> Nope, a power drill is a power tool, it needs a human operator just like =
a
hand
> powered drill does. Clearly not a robot by any reasonable definition, ev=
en
> Tilden's.
But it does perform a task. It makes the job of drilling a hole easier for
the operator. By what you have said, all those bots car factories have are
no longer robots, because they have people check up on them to see if they
work.
> Simply performing a task does not make anything a robot. Check your
dictionary.
I did.
Anyhow, this is getting pointless (maybe a robot should take over the task
of writing these), so I'm going to bed.
Signing off,
Rob Rix
=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B=8B
Life is a like the theatre, but it's lucky anyone can survive with everyone
ad-libbing their lines and the occasional gunfight.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
eGroups.com home: http://www.egroups.com/group/alt-beam
http://www.egroups.com
- Simplifying group communications
Home