robison@eosp1.UUCP (Tobias D. Robison) (11/01/84)
One of my favorite pieces from the book, "A Stress Analysis of a Strapless Evening Gown", is called "Postal System Input Buffer Device". This is a rather successful manual, written in the style of baroque IBM computer manuals, explaining how to operate a public mailbox. I am going to quote a particularly nice footnote, hoping it doesn't lose too much by being quoted out of context: 1. POSITION OF OPERATOR: Locate the Control Console (see fiure 1). Stand in front of the machine so that the control console is facing you. [FOOTNOTE: The novice Operator Trainee may prefer to face the console.] The book also contains a really smooth proof that all horses are the same color. Then there is "The Chaostron", a psychological experiment to study computers' learning ability. [The authors carefully note that "we do not mean to imply that anthropomorphic categories or judgments should be applied to machines, but merely that the machines have a desire to learn)."] It was not possible to build the Chaostron to carry out the author's tests, but simulation resources were available. The authors give an acknowledgemnt "to Mr. V. A. Vyssotsky, for manually simulating the 704 simulating Stretch simulating Chaostron, to complete run 133 after the budget funds ran out." - Toby Robison allegra!eosp1!robison or: decvax!ittvax!eosp1!robison alternate: princeton!eosp1!robison