tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710137.post109292595163039793..comments2023-11-29T18:18:34.148+10:00Comments on Explorer Street: Jon Udell on The Scalability MythJameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13957835772322921101noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710137.post-1092961681078084892004-08-20T10:28:00.000+10:002004-08-20T10:28:00.000+10:00Hey Jim,
Sounds interesting - I've heard of it bef...Hey Jim,<br />Sounds interesting - I've heard of it before, but I haven't read it. I know quite a few people have commented on properties being contextual... and though my memory is not very good, I remember the book <A HREF="http://www.blogger.com/r?http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fexec%2Fobidos%2Ftg%2Fdetail%2F-%2F0140178740%2F102-9575482-0455337%3Fv%3Dglance">"The Collapse of Chaos"</A> by Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen talks quite explicitly (no, I don't mean <I>that</I> type of explicit :-)) on the subject. I hope my argument didn't sound like it was getting metaphysical - because that's pretty much the opposite of what I had intended. That is, I think the view that things simply have certain properties tends to ignore the reality that there are real reasons for why the propertyies exists, and that those reasons can potentially vary in different contexts.<br />Regards,<br />James.Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13957835772322921101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5710137.post-1092933410008565452004-08-20T02:36:00.000+10:002004-08-20T02:36:00.000+10:00If you haven't (and it sounds like you have), you ...If you haven't (and it sounds like you have), you should read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert Pirsig. Your statements about properties ring familiar with his discussion of "quality". He is of quite dubious philosophical standing, from what I've heard, but its a good and provocative read nonetheless.Jimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01107947648278338826noreply@blogger.com