Return-Path: <@FINHUTC.HUT.FI:LOJBAN@CUVMB.BITNET> Received: from kantti.helsinki.fi by xiron.pc.helsinki.fi with smtp (Linux Smail3.1.28.1 #1) id m0rHtSN-00007DC; Wed, 14 Dec 94 15:09 EET Received: from fiport.funet.fi (fiport.funet.fi [128.214.109.150]) by kantti.helsinki.fi (8.6.9/8.6.5) with ESMTP id PAA18918 for ; Wed, 14 Dec 1994 15:08:18 +0200 Received: from FINHUTC.HUT.FI (MAILER@FINHUTC) by FIPORT.FUNET.FI (PMDF V4.3-7 #2494) id <01HKMV017YLC00033I@FIPORT.FUNET.FI>; Wed, 14 Dec 1994 13:07:05 EET Received: from SEARN.SUNET.SE (NJE origin MAILER@SEARN) by FINHUTC.HUT.FI (LMail V1.1d/1.7f) with BSMTP id 7628; Wed, 14 Dec 1994 15:08:15 +0200 Received: from SEARN.SUNET.SE (NJE origin LISTSERV@SEARN) by SEARN.SUNET.SE (LMail V1.2a/1.8a) with BSMTP id 0523; Wed, 14 Dec 1994 14:04:51 +0100 Date: Wed, 14 Dec 1994 08:06:29 -0500 (EST) From: bob@GNU.AI.MIT.EDU Subject: Re: defaults In-reply-to: <199412140537.AAA00701@albert.gnu.ai.mit.edu> (message from Logical Language Group on Wed, 14 Dec 1994 00:32:20 -0500) Sender: Lojban list To: Veijo Vilva Reply-to: bob@GNU.AI.MIT.EDU Message-id: <01HKMV018GHU00033I@FIPORT.FUNET.FI> X-Envelope-to: veion@XIRON.PC.HELSINKI.FI Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT X-To: lojban@cuvmb.cc.columbia.edu MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Length: 886 Lines: 17 la lojbab cuska di'e All Lojban defaults are to some extent probable values for an ellipsis, at least in my opinion. I would be willing to be overridden on this by Cowan and/or pc, since I don't think it has been discussed ewxplicitly in design discussions. I think it has just been my implicit (default? %^) assumption. Yes. this has been my default assumption also. Without it being probabilistic, you have problems with tenses, numbers of entities, and so on. Think of the speakers of Lojban as computers in which the default values of their programs are fuzzy logic, probabilistic expressions rather than as single valued expressions. Of course, this desktop machine I am typing on would have a hard time with this sort of expression, but the light weight parallel processor I'm carrying around on the top of my neck does OK with this sort of default.