tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060605.post114266805380448588..comments2024-03-26T15:57:13.443+00:00Comments on On An Overgrown Path: Why computers will not take over our worldUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060605.post-1142690835166192102006-03-18T14:07:00.000+00:002006-03-18T14:07:00.000+00:00Thx Richard, and follow this Overgrown Path to dis...Thx Richard, and follow <A HREF="http://www.answers.com/idempotent" REL="nofollow">this Overgrown Path</A> to disambiguate <I>idempotent</I>.Pliablehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10616598845886342325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060605.post-1142671805619518292006-03-18T08:50:00.000+00:002006-03-18T08:50:00.000+00:00Disambiguation is one of those strange words that ...Disambiguation is one of those strange words that pop up in strange contexts. Actually, because the folks that put the Wikipedia together are computer programmers, they came across a situation in the informational architecture of their content that seemed a lot like a situation that occurs in computer programming .. where the programmer has written some code that could be interpreted in more than one way. Compilers, the software that converts programming languages into machine hardware instructions, don't like ambiguity. There must be a one-to-one mapping. The term "disambiguation" refers to additional information the programmer can supply that allows the compiler to make assumptions when ambiguities arise.<BR/><BR/>You wouldn't expect such words to pop out of the mouths of computer programmers, but many programmers have an interest in human language and linguistics as well. Especially those programmers who design languages and their compilers. So words like these form the domain of linguistics do find their way into conversation.<BR/><BR/>Now, let me tell you the story of the term "idempotent".....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com