Re: SIL Toolbox and IPA Unicode 1.0

On Wednesday, September 1, 2004, at 11:33 , Philippe Caquant wrote:

[snip]
> ........ it's the general situation about the
> so-called "computer science".
{Groan} - first we are informed that linguistics is not a science and now,
  apparently, computer science has to quoted and we are told it is only a
'so-called science' - which presumably means it is a pseudo-science, that
is, not a science.

There was I under the impression that several years ago I had spent a lot
of dosh and three years of my life getting a master's degree in computer
science. Now I discover I was deceived.

I guess we should be grateful that we have someone who can enlighten us
poor deluded individuals. I must obviously sue the University in order to
recover my money and to claim compensation for all the time wasted.
Perhaps Philippe could enlighten me what was unscientific about stuff I
studied and the work I did; I need to know in order to instruct my lawyer.

BTW I am talking about computer science itself. Petty whinging about the
use, or rather misuse, of the science by commercial enterprises or other
individuals is irrelevant.

> It is simply incredible:
> in the year 2004, we are still working like in stone
> age.
D'oh! And  there was I thinking computers were a product of the 20th
century. So they had them in the stone age. Well, we live and learn. I
guess I've been misinformed about stone age flint knappers. All these
years I've been under the impression they were making arrow-heads when all
along they were slicing off little chips of silicon. We live and learn.

> We should have lots of beautiful, handy,
> reliables, easy-to-use, communicating tools at hand.
> In fact, we're cursing every day the f...ing inventor
> of f...ing 'vi' (Unix) and hundreds of other f...ing
> tools of the same sort.
Don't you just love the high thoughts and high language?

[snip]
> "High thoughts must have high language." (Aristophanes, Frogs)
Ray
===============================================
http://home.freeuk.com/ray.brown
ray.brown@freeuk.com
===============================================
"A mind which thinks at its own expense will always
interfere with language."         J.G. Hamann, 1760

Reply