LRC.Throop@UTEXAS-20.ARPA (07/23/84)
From: David Throop <LRC.Throop@UTEXAS-20.ARPA>
I have started naming names.
It started with the observation that since I am David Throop, and David
Throop is my name, then it follows that I am my name. There is obviously a
flaw here; I am not my name. I mean, if I changed my name I would still be
myself. So it is perhaps more clear to say that I am David Throop, and my
name is "David Throop". (This is still off. I mean, "David Throop" is still
a character string, a sequence of letters, and my name is something other than
a sequence of letters. "David Throop" has a value that is a name, and the
name has a value that is a person, and I am that person.) [Are you still with
me?]
That is, to say of course, that D - a - v - i - d - - T - h - r - o - o - p
is still another character string that denotes a character string that denotes
a name that denotes me. (The string "me" denoting the same person,
coincidently, as is denoted by my name.)
Which is all prologue to the question of whether I could give my name a
name. Not the name "David Throop", of course. That's already taken. I
considered naming my name "david throop" but I felt that this might cause some
confusion. (And raises the ugly question of how to pronounce it. You see,
the "h" silent in my last name, and though "Throop" is pronounced with a
silent "h" I'm not sure that "throop" would be also.)
[Which brings up the side issue of the version of my name as a pronounced
set of sounds. And on reflection, I'm not sure whether the value of the
character string "David Throop" is a sound sequence, or my name itself. Or it
may be that the value of the sound sequence is the character string. Or its
more likely that the sound sequence and the character string are two separate
objects that happen to have the same value. Although, curiously, you can get
from one to the other and back again without ever encountering me. I mean,
even if you didn't know me, even if you didn't know that "David Throop" was a
name, you could pronounce it and if you heard it you could spell it. But
you'd probably have a little trouble with the silent "h". It persists in
injecting itself into the whole problem.]
But back to giving my name a name. People always say, "Well I'm not about
to start naming names", and I think the forgoing illustrates some of the
problems away from which people are shying. But then, how are we going to
talk about my name if it is nameless?
For instance, if I tell you that I don't want to sully my good name, and you
reply, "What good name?" how can I reply? If I reply, "Why, David Throop, of
course," then I haven't refered to my name, I've refered to myself. Of
course, I could reply "Why, "David Throop", of course" but those little quote
marks are kind of hard to see in a spoken retort, and that's the kind of
challenge I reply to immediately. It wouldn't do to have a letter show up a
week later saying "Why, "David Throop", of course." One needs to defend one's
name promptly. Some people have a cute way of waving their hands in the air
in order to indicate those marks, but it kind of takes the force out of the
retort, and I must remember that my good name is on the line.
So I've decided to name my name something else. Although I saw some good
ideas in a book named "Your Baby's Name", I steered clear. "Jason" sounded
nice, but somebody might think that that was somebody's name. And it's not.
It's a name's name. I decided on G00483; as near as I can tell it's not being
used for anything else right now. And it sounds like a name's name.
But this brings up a question. Is G00483 my name's name? Or is it just my
name for my name? (my own name, that is.) After all, my name doesn't have any
need for its name. I'm the one that needs to know its name, so that I can
refer to it when you question my good name. Since it doesn't name itself and
I do, I'll just leave it as my name for the name of myself.
Look, I realize this is all rather complex and I don't want to run it into
the ground. Just understand. I've started naming names. I've got a good
one. And for now, I'm retaining custody.
Sincerely,
David Throop