taylor@hplabsc.UUCP (06/28/86)
this? The last I heard, he was supposedly trying to instigate a lawsuit against the feds involved, but it wasn't clear that he could even legally claim that he had been "harmed" by the information, and since he had to admit that it was true ... [Assigning 'value' to information is quite hard! Consider the example herein, or the times when you've assimilated some seemingly worthless information only to find it very useful later on... -- Dave]
taylor@hplabsc.UUCP (07/01/86)
-------- This article is from <harvard!rclex!cdx39!jc> and was received on Fri Jun 20 15:41:27 1986 -------- > To which I say, the term isn't "unused knowledge", it's "trivia". The > bookstores are loaded with books full of the stuff. Most information is > of little value when it's fresh; and of no value when it's stale. On the other hand, stale and/or trivial information can often be of great value. Consider the story from the 70's of the guy who finally found out why he had never been able to get any research support from Federal funding agencies. It turned out that he was considered a potential subversive, because back in the forties, his future father-in-law had for about six months subscribed to a communist publication. Yea, stale trivia can truly be of great import in a man's life! Has anyone ever heard a follow-up on this? The last I heard, he was supposedly trying to instigate a lawsuit against the feds involved, but it wasn't clear that he could even legally claim that he had been "harmed" by the information, and since he had to admit that it was true ... [Assigning 'value' to information is quite hard! Consider the example herein, or the times when you've assimilated some seemingly worthless information only to find it very useful later on... -- Dave]