werner@aecom.UUCP (Craig Werner) (12/15/84)
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Daneel said, "Why should a difference in a word make any
difference to the thing described?"
" 'That which we call a rose by any other name would smell
as sweet.' Is that it, Daneel?"
Daneel paused, then said, "I am not certain what is meant
by the smell of a rose, but if a rose on Earth is the common
flower that is called a rose on Aurora, and if by its 'smell' you
mean a property that can be detected, sensed, or measured by
human beings, then surely calling a rose by another sound-
combination -- and holding all else equal -- would not affect
the smell or any other of its intrinsic properties."
Dialogue between Elijah Bailey and R. Daneel Olivaw
Isaac Asimov _The Robots of Dawn_
[A demonstration of the problem of human metaphor.]
--
Craig Werner
!philabs!aecom!werner
What do you expect? Watermelons are out of season!philipl@azure.UUCP (12/19/84)
> " 'That which we call a rose by any other name would smell > as sweet.' Is that it, Daneel?" > Daneel paused, then said, "I am not certain what is meant > by the smell of a rose, but if a rose on Earth is the common > flower that is called a rose on Aurora, and if by its 'smell' you > mean a property that can be detected, sensed, or measured by > human beings, then surely calling a rose by another sound- > combination -- and holding all else equal -- would not affect > the smell or any other of its intrinsic properties." > > -Isaac Asimov: _The Robots of Dawn_ Shakespeare sure did know how to pack a lot of meaning into a few words, didn't he? -prl