Subject: Re: [lojban] RE: Tenses

From: "Jorge Llambias" <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 2002 23:34:21 +0000

la pycyn cusku di'e

>Tense is a system of vectors that run from axes to events. An axis comes
>into existence by having a vector originate at it, an event comes into
>language by being at the end of a vector. Vectors have two properties: a
>direction and a length (tensor).

I remember I was very confused by these expresions when I first
started learning Lojban. To me, "axis" suggests a straight line,
not a point, so I prefer "origin" for the point where the vector
originates. Also, the length of a vector is usally called "norm".
Tensors are a generalization of vectors, (as force is a vector,
tension is a tensor). The first time I read that Lojban tense
used "tensors" I was really curious, until I realized they were
nothing but the length of the vectors. Is this use of "axis"
and "tensor" standard in Logic, or is it a Lojban thing?

[...]
>A remote axis expression cannot, therefore, go in the
>normal tense place, since it will there attach to the x1 sumti (and putting
>{cu} before it is illegal).

I think you may be mislead by the parser here. The remote axis
expression cannot be attached to the x1 sumti just by juxtaposition.
You need {ne} or one of its kin to attach it.

>This
>meets the present problem; the others (like "How do you give precise 
>tensors,
>e.g., 'fifty minutes ago and five miles away'?") will have to wait.

Are you thinking of the termset thing here, or do you have some
other card up your sleeve?

mu'o mi'e xorxes

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