[comp.emacs] My best guess at the origin of the name Emacs

jmik@topaz.rutgers.edu (Rev. Joseph Miklojcik) (08/10/89)

I found this in an OLD dusty manual here at our office

"What is EMACS?  It is a tree falling in the forest with no one to
hear it.  It is a beautiful flower that smells awful."

This was the opening quote to the introduction, taken from some
unnamed source.  The manual was evidently written by James Gosling,
and is Copyright (c) 1983.  That Emacs (version 264) was being sold by a
company called Unipress Software.

DISCLAIMER: I work for Unipress Software, and whatever you can infer
from the above paragraphs are completely my own opinions and thoughts
(save the quote).  I am in all ways responsible for it.

--joe

sdl@MBUNIX.MITRE.ORG (Litvintchouk) (08/14/89)

> I found this in an OLD dusty manual here at our office
> 
> "What is EMACS?  It is a tree falling in the forest with no one to
> hear it.  It is a beautiful flower that smells awful."
> 
> This was the opening quote to the introduction, taken from some
> unnamed source. 

I thought everyone knew that this was actually Mr. Spock's definition
of "logic" given in an old Star Trek episode ("I, Mudd", if memory
serves correctly).


Steven Litvintchouk
MITRE Corporation
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(617)271-7753

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