[mod.ai] "Real" Story behind MRS's name

greiner%utai%toronto.CSNET@CSNET-RELAY.ARPA (Russell Greiner) (02/25/86)

From: Russell Greiner <greiner%utai%toronto.csnet@CSNET-RELAY.ARPA>


  > Date: Tue, 4 Feb 86 15:46:28 EST
  > From: munnari!goanna.oz!wjb@seismo.CSS.GOV (Warwick Bolam)
  > Subject: Correction to correction to name of MRS
  > 
  >  [...]
  > Is there anyone who REALLY knows what MRS stands for?  I have a number of
  > MRS documents and NONE of them says "MRS stand for ..."
  >  [...]

Years ago, Mike genesereth, Russ greiner and dave Smith got together,
along with some other illustrious researchers, and decided to create
a new and better representation language.  To achieve our original 
objective of modifiability, the

	Modifiable Representation System

was born.  When we noticed that the only thing truly modifiable about it
was its name, it was rechristened the

	Meta-level Representation System.

As this, too, seemed a bit misleading, we considered several other 
names.  Soon, we were forced to realize that we had an inherently

	Misnamed Representation System,

which still seems its best name.  (Of course, if this name really is
appropriate then it is, in fact, inappropriate.  That, in turn, means
it is not misnamed, which means it is misnamed, which ...)


[Apology: The story above is basically correct; only the names have
 been changed ...]


Russ Greiner
University of Toronto
(formerly of Stanford University).