[FOM] "Hidden" contradictions
Timothy Y. Chow
tchow at alum.mit.edu
Mon Aug 26 16:56:18 EDT 2013
Carl Hewitt wrote:
> Formalizing inconsistencies in large software systems is serious business:
> * Facilitating computer processing
> * Facilitating developing alternative formulations
> * Facilitating analysis of argument structures of contradictions
> * Facilitating comparisons with other inconsistencies
> Not enough of the above has been done and we need to get to work! If we
> believe in formal methods, we can't just say there is a "bug" and wash
> our hands of it.
I don't disagree with what you've said here, but it is a non sequitur.
You did not answer either of my two questions. Question #1 was:
>> Could you be more specific? I skimmed the file
>> but was not able to identify which "ongoing saga" in particular you
>> were referring to.
And Question #2 was:
>> Also, what exactly do you mean by an "inconsistency" in a large
>> software system? I'm assuming you're not using the word
>> "inconsistency" interchangeably with the word "bug." I'm guessing that
>> you're using "inconsistency" to refer to formal software
>> *specifications* rather than to software itself?
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