Return-Path: Message-Id: <9201231649.AA30572@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu> Date: Wed, 22 Jan 1992 15:04:47 EST Reply-To: "Mark E. Shoulson" Sender: Lojban list From: "Mark E. Shoulson" Subject: tyt. tyt. X-To: lojban@cuvmb.cc.columbia.edu To: John Cowan , Eric Raymond , Eric Tiedemann In-Reply-To: Logical Language Group's message of Tue, 21 Jan 1992 05:36:16 -0500 Status: RO X-From-Space-Date: Thu Jan 23 13:10:14 1992 X-From-Space-Address: cbmvax!uunet!CUVMA.BITNET!LOJBAN >Date: Tue, 21 Jan 1992 05:36:16 -0500 >From: Logical Language Group >X-To: lojban@cuvmb.cc.columbia.edu >"ty." by itself is a word which is in selma'o BY and represents the lerfu "t". >Grammtically, it can appear as a sumti, in which case it is a variable like >"ko'a", but most likely assigned to something that starts with the letter "t" >for easy mnemonics. Would it? Or would it mean the letter T, for use in discussions about typography or something? (ty cu barda lerfu...) >you can also use 't' as a number in >"ty. le vo prenu" t of the 4 persons >and similar instances. Actually, this isn't quite true. If you check the grammar, you'll find that numbers must start with a PA word, so "ty le vo prenu" is really two sumti: "ty" and "le vo prenu". Sorry, lojbab. You're more authoritative than I, but the grammar is more authoritative than you. Not sure how you'd get "t of the four persons", though. >Regarding 't' in mekso, "li ty." is the number represented by t, and >"li ty. su'i pa" is the number "t+1". This should be distinguished from the >string/expression (the mekso) that represents these numbers >"me'o ty." is a string representing the number represented by t, or "t" itself. >and me'o ty. su'i pa is the string representing the mekso "t+1". I think using "li " should be construed more broadly than stictly as a number. It should be any conceptual value. After all, in some sense "one-half" isn't a true "number" (I dare you to show me something that's half a rock), or -1 (place negative one apples in this bowl, please) or sqrt(-1) (how many pens do I have to have before I have i of them?), but they are valid "numbers", i.e. values, for their applications. For the right situations (when you're dealing with non-discrete quantities, balances, and assorted mathematical and physical properties respectively), they make perfect sense. Similarly, T is a value in the LISP logic system, so "li ty" should mean "the value represented by T". In many situations, this will be a number. To a LISPer, it may be the Truth value. This dichotomy is the usual way most programmers I've spoken to think. ~mark