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On 10/8/06, ara.t.howard / noaa.gov <ara.t.howard / noaa.gov> wrote:
>
> On Mon, 9 Oct 2006, John W. Kennedy wrote:
>
> > ara.t.howard / noaa.gov wrote:
> >> On Sun, 8 Oct 2006, Robert Dober wrote:
> >>
> >>> On 10/8/06, Hal Fulton <hal9000 / hypermetrics.com> wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> I do agree that making nil return true for #empty? is the
> >>>> wrong solution.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> Then by simple logic, the right solution will be to have it return
> false
> >>
> >> na, read up on godel - every boolean language/situation also has a
> class of
> >> maybe/unknowable/paradox.  this falls there.
> >
> > Not so. A system has to reach a certain level of complexity for Göäelo
> kick
> > in. Arithmetic reaches that level. Boolean algebra does not.
>
> but we're not talking about boolean logic?  we're talking about
> 'statements'
> made about the concept of nothing in the english language, specifically
>
>    nil.empty?  # asserting must be either true or false in the thread


nil.empty? => 42 e.g.

and i don't think it's the case that one can say that
>
>    ((nil.empty? == true) -> false) -> true
>
> in otherwords i don't think it's correct to say that, because "making nil
> return true for #empty? is the wrong solution" that making it return false
> is
> the right one - precisely because we're not dealing with boolean logic
> here.


No of course not, my stupid? reply was not intended to be stupid though, I
wanted to say, and strangely enough
I thaught that it was completely clear - I must have been kind of  [tw]ired
:
Hal said "nil.empty? => true === bad idea"
I thaught that he should have said  "nil.respond_to? :empty? === bad idea"
(regardeless of what I think about that matter).


at least, that's my take on something entirely off-thread, but interesting
> nonetheless!


It is as a matter of fact and I really have to bite my tongue...

cheers.
>
> -a
> --
> in order to be effective truth must penetrate like an arrow - and that is
> likely to hurt. -- wei wu wei
>
> Robert


-- 
Deux choses sont infinies : l'univers et la bóÕise humaine ; en ce qui
concerne l'univers, je n'en ai pas acquis la certitude absolue.

- Albert Einstein

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