From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=0.6 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_40,FREEMAIL_FROM, INVALID_MSGID autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: fac41,995c28f68b9dc343 X-Google-Attributes: gidfac41,public X-Google-Thread: 109fba,995c28f68b9dc343 X-Google-Attributes: gid109fba,public X-Google-Thread: f43e6,995c28f68b9dc343 X-Google-Attributes: gidf43e6,public X-Google-Thread: 107d55,995c28f68b9dc343 X-Google-Attributes: gid107d55,public X-Google-Thread: 103376,995c28f68b9dc343 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-Thread: 1108a1,995c28f68b9dc343 X-Google-Attributes: gid1108a1,public From: "the_walrus@bigfoot.com" Subject: Re: Make what user wants? Date: 1997/09/26 Message-ID: <342BE793.7CD8@bigfoot.com>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 275769198 References: <5vnat7$ncf$1@news2.digex.net> <341F97D4.543C@dgb.nl> <342841CF.2494@doc.csusb.edu> <342BA9EA.429DA7DB@calfp.com> Organization: Walrus, Inc. Newsgroups: comp.object,comp.software-eng,comp.lang.ada,comp.lang.eiffel,comp.lang.java.tech,comp.lang.c++ Date: 1997-09-26T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: Richie Bielak wrote: > I worry how much information is being lost, when 20 pages of > figures are reduced to a single line. By looking at those > pages the users could have possibly spotted thing that > now are invisible - people are great pattern recognizers > and computers are not. Egad, you're right! All those individual figures in each of the first and last columns were lost when they were summed! Even worse ... the sums were lost when they were compared! It's actually the maths that's at fault, 'tho, not the computer, since they were ALREADY LOSING THE INFORMATION by using the maths in the first place, before the computer was even in the equation. The inescapable conclusion is that we stop counting things ... if you ask me how many sheep are in the field, and I say "twenty", then we've lost the information that one of them had a black spot on its shoulder. What I should do instead, when you ask, is drive you down to the field so that you can judge for yourself ... after all, people are great pattern recognisers! walrus. Sorry, btw ... this isn't intended as a flame, just a bit of gentle humour ... must be all that beer at dinnertime that keeps doing this to my brain ;)