perm filename OUTGO.MSG[1,JMC]14 blob
sn#769705 filedate 1984-09-17 generic text, type C, neo UTF8
COMMENT ⊗ VALID 00048 PAGES
C REC PAGE DESCRIPTION
C00001 00001
C00005 00002 ∂03-Jul-84 1723 JMC new circum paper
C00006 00003 ∂03-Jul-84 1727 JMC new circum paper
C00007 00004 ∂03-Jul-84 2026 JMC
C00008 00005 ∂03-Jul-84 2352 JMC co-operation workshop
C00010 00006 ∂03-Jul-84 2357 JMC
C00011 00007 ∂04-Jul-84 0040 JMC bibliography
C00012 00008 ∂04-Jul-84 0045 JMC Paper you sent to Cartwright for refereeing.
C00013 00009 ∂04-Jul-84 1014 JMC
C00014 00010 ∂04-Jul-84 1407 JMC
C00015 00011 ∂04-Jul-84 1434 JMC
C00016 00012 ∂04-Jul-84 1435 JMC
C00017 00013 ∂04-Jul-84 1622 JMC
C00018 00014 ∂04-Jul-84 1623 JMC Ivan Plander
C00019 00015 ∂05-Jul-84 1338 JMC
C00020 00016 ∂05-Jul-84 1341 JMC FY 85 Incrementals
C00026 00017 ∂05-Jul-84 1342 JMC
C00027 00018 ∂05-Jul-84 1354 JMC Accomplishments and objectives
C00030 00019 ∂05-Jul-84 1546 JMC
C00031 00020 ∂05-Jul-84 1714 JMC agenda
C00032 00021 ∂05-Jul-84 1755 JMC visit
C00033 00022 ∂05-Jul-84 1758 JMC
C00034 00023 ∂06-Jul-84 0020 JMC
C00035 00024 ∂06-Jul-84 0133 JMC accomplishments
C00036 00025 ∂06-Jul-84 0852 JMC papers to Kenneth Bowen
C00037 00026 ∂06-Jul-84 1120 JMC plander
C00038 00027 ∂06-Jul-84 1158 JMC
C00039 00028 ∂08-Jul-84 1647 JMC
C00040 00029 ∂08-Jul-84 2246 JMC
C00041 00030 ∂09-Jul-84 0129 JMC
C00042 00031 ∂09-Jul-84 1033 JMC secretary
C00043 00032 ∂09-Jul-84 1733 JMC no interview
C00044 00033 ∂09-Jul-84 1735 JMC re: : Nuclear lunch 7/10 - food for thought (from SAIL's BBOARD)
C00045 00034 ∂09-Jul-84 2141 JMC logic week
C00046 00035 ∂10-Jul-84 1630 JMC why people flee
C00047 00036 ∂10-Jul-84 1807 JMC
C00049 00037 ∂10-Jul-84 1907 JMC home printer
C00051 00038 ∂11-Jul-84 0030 JMC
C00052 00039 ∂11-Jul-84 0052 JMC
C00053 00040 ∂11-Jul-84 2101 JMC
C00054 00041 ∂11-Jul-84 2151 JMC conservation of angular momentum
C00055 00042 ∂11-Jul-84 2347 JMC
C00056 00043 ∂12-Jul-84 0144 JMC
C00057 00044 ∂12-Jul-84 1455 JMC
C00058 00045 ∂13-Jul-84 0952 JMC
C00064 00046 ∂13-Jul-84 1056 JMC Kemeny memo
C00065 00047 ∂13-Jul-84 1218 JMC Your Common Lisp
C00067 00048 ∂13-Jul-84 1220 JMC
C00071 ENDMK
C⊗;
∂03-Jul-84 1723 JMC new circum paper
To: nilsson@SU-SCORE.ARPA
I'll send you a copy of the present version, but I'm hoping that the final
version will contain a substantial improvement in the treatment of
prioritized circumscription.
∂03-Jul-84 1727 JMC new circum paper
To: nilsson@SRI-AI.ARPA
I'll send you one, but I'm hoping that the final version will have
a greatly improved version of my new idea of prioritized circumscription.
∂03-Jul-84 2026 JMC
To: aaai-office@SUMEX-AIM.ARPA, bledsoe@UTEXAS-20.ARPA
OK with me to delay agenda
∂03-Jul-84 2352 JMC co-operation workshop
To: georgeff@SRI-AI.ARPA, pereira@SRI-AI.ARPA
title: Axioms for co-operation and for concurrent action
Abstract: The object is to give axioms suitable for inclusion
in a common sense database about co-operation and concurrent
action. The axiom systems will be for systems that use circumscription, i.e.
they are open-ended in that many new phenomena can be handled by adding
axioms rather than changing existing ones. However, to draw strong
conclusions, circumscriptions that assume a "standard" model of the
axioms is required. At the time of writing this abstract the material
on co-operation is closer to definite shape than that concerning
concurrent action.
An overhead projector will be wanted. Possibly a 35mm will be wanted
to if I use some of the slides for my AAAI lecture.
∂03-Jul-84 2357 JMC
To: DFH
See if we can put Ito in Faculty Club. If yes include a sentence in letter.
∂04-Jul-84 0040 JMC bibliography
To: grosof@SUMEX-AIM.ARPA
Can you undertake to compare Don Perlis's bibliography with our collection?
∂04-Jul-84 0045 JMC Paper you sent to Cartwright for refereeing.
To: graham@UCB-VAX.ARPA
It arrived here, and I am forwarding it to Cartwright at
Computer Science Dept. Rice University, Houston TX.
∂04-Jul-84 1014 JMC
To: HST
What can you say about Ivan Plander from Czechoslovakia?
∂04-Jul-84 1407 JMC
To: RPG
Earlier than the 25th isn't ok for Blasgen, because he returns from
Japan on the 24th, and needless to say, slightly later in the week
would be better for him, but Wednesday the 25th is ok.
∂04-Jul-84 1434 JMC
To: buchanan@SUMEX-AIM.ARPA
Journal of Computers and Artificial Intelligence
∂04-Jul-84 1435 JMC
To: buchanan@SUMEX-AIM.ARPA
3rd international conference
biannual conference on ai and information control systems for robots, 1984 june
∂04-Jul-84 1622 JMC
To: JMC
441-2700 room 311
∂04-Jul-84 1623 JMC Ivan Plander
To: nitzan@SRI-AI.ARPA
Ivan Plander, head of Institute of Technical Cybernetics in Bratislava,
would like to visit you, possibly Friday. He is at the Savoy Hotel
in San Francisco 441-2700 room 311. He will probably be at the COLING-84
conference at Stanford on Thursday if you want to try to track him down
to make arrangements.
∂05-Jul-84 1338 JMC
To: HST
Plander came to visit yesterday as part of a tour of the U.S. He
seemed just what one would expect the director of the Institute
of Technical Cybernetics in Bratislava to be.
∂05-Jul-84 1341 JMC FY 85 Incrementals
To: RPG@SU-AI.ARPA, bscott@SU-SCORE.ARPA
∂26-Jun-84 1331 OHLANDER@USC-ISI.ARPA FY 85 Incrementals
Received: from USC-ISI.ARPA by SU-AI.ARPA with TCP; 26 Jun 84 13:30:59 PDT
Date: 26 Jun 1984 16:30-EDT
Sender: OHLANDER@USC-ISI.ARPA
Subject: FY 85 Incrementals
From: OHLANDER@USC-ISI.ARPA
To: Zue@MIT-MC.ARPA
To: TOB@SU-AI.ARPA, Nevatia@USC-ECL.ARPA, Fischler@SRI-AI.ARPA
To: Kanande@CMU-CS-A.ARPA
To: Wiederhold@SUMEX-AIM.ARPA, Feigenbaum@SUMEX-AIM.ARPA
To: JMC@SU-AI.ARPA, Kender@COLUMBIA-20.ARPA, Lebowitz@COLUMBIA-20.ARPA
To: Wilensky@UCB-VAX.ARPA, Green@KESTREL.ARPA, Schank@YALE.ARPA
To: McDermott@YALE.ARPA, Stan@SRI-AI.ARPA, Adams@USC-ISI.ARPA
To: MLD@MIT-ML.ARPA, Garvey@SRI-AI.ARPA, BALZER@ISI-VAXA.ARPA
To: PHW@MIT-MC.ARPA, Talbert@RAND-UNIX.ARPA, Lesser.umass-cs@UDEL-RELAY.ARPA
To: Riseman.umass-cs@UDEL-RELAY.ARPA, Hope%cvl.arpa@CSNET-RELAY.ARPA
Cc: Ohlander@USC-ISI.ARPA
Message-ID: <[USC-ISI.ARPA]26-Jun-84 16:30:32.OHLANDER>
Gentlemen:
The time has come to initiate actions for FY 85
incremental funding. Accordingly, I need 4 or 5 items of
accomplishment for the past year of research and 4 or 5
objectives for FY 86 research. These should be brief bullets.
Provide accomplishments from the perspective of the end of the
fiscal year, i.e., list anything that your reasonably expect to
accomplish by the end of September. Please send these to me by
net mail by the 6th of July. I need accomplishments and objectives
for each major effort that DARPA is funding at your institution.
Samples of the kind of information that I want are shown below.
Ron Ohlander
********************************************************************
Accomplishments to Date:
Conducted survey of research institutions conducting research in
Autonomous Vehicles for the purpose of the determining extent of
research being conducted in the area and the kinds of vehicles
available.
In conjunction with Westinghouse and NVL, completed preliminary
design of a vehicle system to be utilized in the research
program.
Performed a kinematic analysis of structure and motion from
optical flow.
Developed optical flow field smoothing and multi-resolution
techniques.
FY84 Objectives:
Complete the vehicle system assembly and determine a vehicle task
formulation. Analyze the information flow of the vehicle system.
Develop image understanding techniques for determining optical
flow parameters from image deformation.
Develop a time-dependent differential geometry for structure and
motion analysis.
Develop active and passive ranging algorithms for vehicle
navigation.
Accomplishments to Date:
Finished coding of low-level (point-object) SPAM modules and
debugging is underway.
Coded Davis's FISHNET spatial representation (now called
MERCATOR). Acquired and assembled Heathkit robot to serve as
testbed and completed modifications to allow communication with
Apollo computer.
Conducted further research on logic for time and problem solving
aspects of robotic functioning. Developed techniques for
scheduling of mobile robot activities.
Completed and debugged modules for handling data-dependencies
("truth maintenance") on numerical assertions.
FY84 Objectives:
Complete design of a two-level space-time map (a time map which
includes facts from a spatial map), to allow reasoning about
motion. This will use the SPAM data base.
Complete the implementation of the revised SPAM system.
Implement two-level space-time map. Study applying
MERCATOR-style methods to three-dimensional objects.
Connect problem solver to space-time map, so it can create and
execute plans involving motion.
∂05-Jul-84 1342 JMC
To: bscott@SU-SCORE.ARPA
Anyone else here getting ARPA support from this contract besides
the addressees of the message I just forwarded should get a copy.
∂05-Jul-84 1354 JMC Accomplishments and objectives
To: Ohlander@USC-ISI.ARPA, RPG@SU-AI.ARPA
Accomplishments:
Developed two new formalisms for the circumscription method
of non-monotonic reasoning and applied them to formalizing
common sense facts about the effects of action.
A paper based on this has been completed and accepted by the
non-monotonic reasoning conference.
Completed a study entitled "What is Common Sense" surveying
the common sense fact domains and the common sense reasoning abilities
used by humans. Most of these are needed for intelligent computer
programs but are not incorporated in present systems. A lecture
based on this work is being given at the August meeting of the AAAI.
Yoram Moses has completed a paper on formalizing facts
about knowledge in collaboration with Joseph Halpern of IBM.
FY84 Objectives:
Continue work on non-monotonic reasoning formalisms, especially
a new form called prioritized circumscription that promises important
advantages in formalizing common sense facts.
Prepare a paper on the mathematical aspects of non-monotonic
reasoning intended to enlist the help of mathematical logicians
in developing these formalisms. A paper based on this work is
scheduled for the January meeting of the Asssociation for Symbolic
Logic.
Continue work on formalizing facts about knowledge.
∂05-Jul-84 1546 JMC
To: bscott@SU-SCORE.ARPA
OK on both items. Number for Lifschitz?
∂05-Jul-84 1714 JMC agenda
To: aaai-office@SUMEX-AIM.ARPA
If it isn't on the agenda already, please put in the fellowship proposal.
∂05-Jul-84 1755 JMC visit
To: RPG@SU-AI.ARPA, burton@SU-NAVAJO.ARPA, kahn@USC-ISI.ARPA
RPG and I have now made travel arrangements based on the 24th at 2pm.
∂05-Jul-84 1758 JMC
To: golub@SU-SCORE.ARPA
library keys reminder
∂06-Jul-84 0020 JMC
To: RPG
Lest I forget, are extra consoles available for 3600? How much?
∂06-Jul-84 0133 JMC accomplishments
To: ohlander@USC-ISI.ARPA
CC: RPG@SU-AI.ARPA, bscott@SU-SCORE.ARPA
The previous message referred only to the accomplishments and
objectives of the formal reasoning group. Dick Gabriel will
mail his separately, and Betty Scott will dun the others
for you.
∂06-Jul-84 0852 JMC papers to Kenneth Bowen
To: DFH
Please send to Professor Kenneth Bowen at Syracuse University my
"Coloring Maps and the Kowalski Doctrine" and put him on the list
to get the final version of the new circumscription paper.
∂06-Jul-84 1120 JMC plander
To: nitzan@SRI-AI.ARPA
I don't expect to see him again, and I wasn't recommending him. I suggest
you leave a message for him at the Hotel Savoy in San Francisco.
∂06-Jul-84 1158 JMC
To: DFH
The Sheraton at 55th and Broadway.
∂08-Jul-84 1647 JMC
To: CLT
1pm will be fine.
∂08-Jul-84 2246 JMC
To: ME
Both wires seem to be down.
∂09-Jul-84 0129 JMC
To: CLT
The label is asexp.
∂09-Jul-84 1033 JMC secretary
To: bscott@SU-SCORE.ARPA
If you mean today, either is ok.
∂09-Jul-84 1733 JMC no interview
To: madsen@SU-CSLI.ARPA
I'm feeling I've done as much for the journalists as I want to for the time
being.
∂09-Jul-84 1735 JMC re: : Nuclear lunch 7/10 - food for thought (from SAIL's BBOARD)
To: OTHER-SU-BBOARDS@SU-AI.ARPA
jmc - Seems more that food for self congratulation is being offered
to people with correct views. I can't see that any "food for thought"
has been offered.
∂09-Jul-84 2141 JMC logic week
To: minker.umcp-cs@UDEL-RELAY.ARPA
It looks like I can be there only the first two days of the week,
since I have to go to France on Wednesday morning. I will have
two talks available at that time. The first will be "Applications
of circumscription to formalizing common sense knowledge". The
second is "Mathematics of circumscription". Which do you prefer?
The content of the former is in somewhat better shape, but the
latter will be closer to technical logic.
∂10-Jul-84 1630 JMC why people flee
To: faculty@SU-SCORE.ARPA
Today a student, Daniel Shapiro, came requesting that I be on his orals
committee, because his previous proposed committee had been rejected on
the grounds that it included only people interested in the thesis area,
and we had some regulation against it. This is one more example of how
well intended rules create a situation in which faculty have to leave
town in order to get some research done.
∂10-Jul-84 1807 JMC
To: IAM
;;;appen.lsp[e84,jmc] Locally dirty append
This version of APPEND called APPEND1 has the following
properties:
1. It is iterative, so it cannot run out of push down list.
2. It uses the dirty pseudofunction RPLACD.
3. It's output is clean in that no Lisp variable other than
the local variables of the function can have its value changed
by the execution of APPEND1. For this reason we call APPEND1 {\it locally
dirty}, or to put it positively, {\it globally clean}. It may be
conjectured that a Prolog compiler, would generate approximately
the same code as a Lisp compiler using this definition provided it
were given the standard Prolog definition of APPEND and told what
were the input and output variables.
(defun append1 (u v)
(if (null u)
v
(let ((w (cons (car u) v))) (append1a w w (cdr u)))))
(defun append1a (val w u)
(if (null u)
val
(append1a val
(cdr (rplacd w (cons (car u) v)))
(cdr u))))
(append1 '(a b) '(c d))
∂10-Jul-84 1907 JMC home printer
To: ME
CC: RPG, ARK
One can now buy a dot matrix printer for about $500. A suitable such
printer controlled by a micro might be able to print the SAIL character
set and with elaboration some kind of minimal DVI files. Ideally, a
person would on a dial-in or private line terminal would give a print
command, and SAIL would DIAL the micro which would auto-answer and print
the file. Less ideally, the user would have to get off his terminal line
and connect it to the printer. Perhaps the printer facility of the
Datamedias could be used with a suitable encoding of the output from SAIL
and a suitable decoding by the micro. Is it time to do some such thing?
What is the SCORE situation?
∂11-Jul-84 0030 JMC
To: ARK
He quizzed me carefully to be sure I wasn't interested before he asked.
∂11-Jul-84 0052 JMC
To: cheriton@SU-NAVAJO.ARPA
He asked me whether I was interested before asking me to be on the
committee. In that respect, he's not so dumb.
∂11-Jul-84 2101 JMC
To: RPG
Your analysis is correct. The OED lists quinquevirate as "An
association, board, etc. consisting of five men". Their first
usage was in 1710. There is no penumvirate or anything beginning
with pent either.
∂11-Jul-84 2151 JMC conservation of angular momentum
To: HPM@SU-AI.ARPA
I'm beginning to think you're right about not being able to change
the angular momentum of the system as long as the forces are central.
However, this doesn't exclude changing the eccentricity of the orbit.
∂11-Jul-84 2347 JMC
To: barwise@SU-CSLI.ARPA
Which of today's event (if any) should I attend?
∂12-Jul-84 0144 JMC
To: DFH
Please send Ascribing Mental Qualities to Jerry Hobbs at SRI.
∂12-Jul-84 1455 JMC
To: bscott@SU-SCORE.ARPA
Name the time.
∂13-Jul-84 0952 JMC
To: HST
Just a few points:
Kemeny and Kurtz were, so far as they spoke with me, not interested
in symbolic computation before Lisp and weren't much interested in Lisp
at any stage, and are not interested in Lisp today. Kemeny was very interested
in computation, perhaps partly from having been at the Institute for Advanced
Study in Princeton, where von Neumann was developing his machine. However,
he was certain greatly stimulated by IBM's initiative (Thomas J. Watson Sr.)
in undertaking to finance the New England Computation Center at M.I.T. and
provide it with an IBM 704. Dartmouth was one of the schools approached
by IBM, and, most likely because of Kemeny, the most active apart from
M.I.T. itself.
In connection with plans for the New England Computation Center,
Dartmouth was visited by Nathaniel Rochester and Truman Hunter (the second
might have been Cuthbert Hurd) in the Spring of 1955, shortly after I
arrived in February. I talked to Rochester about my interest in machine
intelligence and he offered me a summer job at IBM in Poughkeepsie, NY
which I took. This led to my proposing to him and others the 1956 summer
research project at Dartmouth. There I was influenced by Newell, Simon
and Shaw to think about list structures. The IBM people were already
talking about Fortran, so my immediate reaction was to combine the ideas.
While I was still at Dartmouth, Kemeny proposed something called
DARSIMCO (Dartmouth simplified coding) for the IBM 704. This was a
collection of macros to be expanded by hand into assembly language.
The ideas, as I recall it, was that a non-professional programmer
would think in terms of 3-address code, e.g X ← Y*Z, and the DARSIMCO
writeup would tell him how to write the appropriate sequence of
machine instructions. He was not talking about compilers at that time.
I visited M.I.T. several times as Dartmouth's representative
to the New England Computation Center, but this was all before there
was any machine to compute with. In the late summer of 1956 (I
think) M.I.T. held a one or two week course to acquaint professors
with the forthcoming IBM 704. I was one of the instructors and
taught about Fortran, etc. to a class of 7 professors. The lack
of a machine made the course rather ineffective. Kemeny got me
a Sloan Foundation Fellowship, and I spent the academic year
1957-58 at M.I.T. in the Computation Center and as a nominal visitor
to the Mathematics Department where I spent almost no time.
I decided that I wanted to stay at M.I.T. and asked Morse
about a job, and at his suggestion, the Electrical Engineering Department
offered me an assistant professorship. Perhaps he tried the Mathematics
Department first.
I presume the incomplete Lisp manual you refer to precedes
the one written by Phyllis Fox. I don't have a copy and don't remember
anything about it.
A 30th anniversary celebration would be nice, but who would
organize it. Have you visited Symbolics in Cambridge? If you
haven't and are still there, you should call Daniel Weinreb. Also
you should pay some attention to the more recent history of Lisp
after I left M.I.T. That involves many people, and there probably
won't be any one person with the full story.
∂13-Jul-84 1056 JMC Kemeny memo
To: HST
Considering the timing, I would expect that neither of us influenced
the other.
∂13-Jul-84 1218 JMC Your Common Lisp
To: hedrick@RUTGERS.ARPA
CC: CLT@SU-AI.ARPA, IAM@SU-AI.ARPA, mrc@SU-SCORE.ARPA,
s.sean@LOTS-A
Carolyn Talcott and I are rewriting our book/course notes about Lisp to
emphasize Common Lisp. I will be teaching Lisp from it again in the
Fall, and it would be a real convenience to be able to use Common Lisp
on the DEC-20. We have your Common Lisp here on SCORE, and we seem to
have it working, but that isn't the same as having about 40 students
using it on three rather crowded machines. What is your opinion about
the prospective usability of your Common Lisp in class this Fall?
∂13-Jul-84 1220 JMC
To: hedrick@RUTGERS.ARPA
A compiler won't be needed.
∂13-Jul-84 1543 JMC TA for CS206 wanted
To: su-bboards@SU-AI.ARPA
TA for CS206 wanted for Fall Quarter
∂13-Jul-84 1744 JMC
To: bscott@SU-SCORE.ARPA
I didn't have quite as favorable reaction as to Gertrud Pacheco, but
I think she'd do. Please check whether there is an complaint about
her being too talkative.
∂14-Jul-84 1238 JMC
To: IAM
There is a longer abstract first section in the Dover.
∂14-Jul-84 2045 JMC re: Optical-to-tape needed (from SAIL's BBOARD)
To: OTHER-SU-BBOARDS@SU-AI.ARPA
jmc - OCR is one of these problems that is commonly believed to have
been solved but isn't. I keep asserting:
(1) There is no device that will routinely read typed correspondence.
(2) There is no device that will routinely read books, except that
perhaps the Kurzweil device is usable by the blind who can tell when it isn't
making sense and can try again.
(3) There is no company that will take fixed price contracts
for reading books (even those without formulas or diagrams) into a computer
at prices competitive with having them retyped in low wage countries.
Some day, I hope, someone will reply that his company will take
such contracts.
∂14-Jul-84 2048 JMC re: Magazine recommendations (from SAIL's BBOARD)
To: OTHER-SU-BBOARDS@SU-AI.ARPA
jmc - Most influential are the New York Review of Books on the moderate
left and Commentary on the moderate right.
∂14-Jul-84 2059 JMC Automath and natural deduction week
To: minker.umcp-cs@UDEL-RELAY.ARPA
Jussi Ketonen's EKL is much better than Automath and it accepts information
in a form much more natural to a mathematician. For comparison with
Automath, a student is using EKL to do Landau's Foundations of Analysis,
which was the Automath piece de resistance. You ought to invite Ketonen
to your "Automath week" in March.
EKL runs on any TOPS-20 system or on a Symbolics Lisp machine.
∂15-Jul-84 1734 JMC
To: grosof@SU-SCORE.ARPA
Congratulations. Did this just happen?
∂15-Jul-84 1751 JMC
To: YOM
5sec of bboard pls.
∂15-Jul-84 1751 JMC
To: YOM
thanks, done.
∂15-Jul-84 1752 JMC re: "The Fifth Generation" (from SAIL's BBOARD)
To: OTHER-SU-BBOARDS@SU-AI.ARPA
jmc - I assume that this last was an indication of approval.
∂15-Jul-84 1930 JMC
To: DFH
Please send Jerry Hobbs at SRI "Ascribing Mental Qualities ...".
∂15-Jul-84 2039 JMC re: Democratic National Convention (from SAIL's BBOARD)
To: OTHER-SU-BBOARDS@SU-AI.ARPA
jmc - Though a Republican, I would nevertheless suggest the direct
approach. Ask information for the telephone number of the Democratic
Convention, call the number and ask. The number might even be
functional Sunday night.
∂16-Jul-84 0221 JMC
To: DFH
haugel.xgp is in the xgp box.
∂16-Jul-84 1109 JMC
To: berg@SU-SCORE.ARPA
For CS206 I will be using the McCarthy and Talcott book draft which will
be ready only in September and the Common Lisp Reference Manual by Guy
Steele published by Digital Press. Please order 50 of the Common Lisp
Manual.
∂16-Jul-84 1220 JMC
To: berg@SU-SCORE.ARPA
Compulsory
∂17-Jul-84 0941 JMC
To: HST
I have no objection to your copying Mary Silver's pictures.
∂17-Jul-84 1002 JMC aaai exec-com agenda
To: hart@SRI-AI.ARPA, aaai-office@SUMEX-AIM.ARPA,
bledsoe@UTEXAS-20.ARPA
Let me react somewhat doubtfully to both proposals.
1. Hilbert's list of problems was his creation - not that of
a committee. While they were famous, and solving one made a mathemtician
famous, the development of 20th century mathematics was not especially
guided by Hilbert's problems. Looked at from the general point of
view of how mathematics developed, they were mostly rather specialized.
Therefore, hoping to guide the future of AI by a committee-produced
list of problems seems to me unpromising. Putting up prizes would
complicate matters considerably. Even with as much hindsight as we
have today, it would be hard to adjudicate how the money should be
divided among the people who worked on Hilbert's problems.
2. As to the NPR proposal, I must confess that I don't listen
to the radio much or watch TV. However, I doubt that what AI needs
at present is more publicity. Moreover, any attempt to guide the
coverage is likely to backfire. We can end up with a choice between
subsidizing a Weizenbaum influenced attack and being the subject
of a journalistic scandal about trying to suppress the truth in order
to keep up the market value of the stocks of AI companies.
My own experience with the media makes me very doubtful. The thank you
note I got from a Nova producer puts it in a nutshell. It said
something like, "We didn't use much of the footage we took of you,
but I thank you, because it helped make a point I wanted to make".
Indeed that was so. I was a prop in a propaganda piece by a hack
journalist whose opinions were based on a month of interaction.
However, I will be glad to make time on the agenda for both subjects.
Maybe, however, the meeting would be more balanced if these proposals
for new activity were discussed in Woody's part of the meeting.
∂17-Jul-84 1157 JMC re: AI-speak ?? (from SAIL's BBOARD)
To: OTHER-SU-BBOARDS@SU-AI.ARPA
jmc - As one of the importers of the first two terms from philosophy into
AI, I will say what I mean.
ontology - The dictionaries define it as the branch of philosophy that
studies what exists. In the bad old days, they argued about whether
physical objects, disembodied spirits, God, exist. Quine (1940s or 1950s?)
modernized the idea by saying that the ontology of a theory is the set
over which the bound variables range. As a nominalist he favored an
impoverished ontology, e.g. just because you want to predicate red(x),
doesn't mean that you need red or redness as an object. The AI
usage is derived from Quine's and remains quite close to it. The programs
or logical sentences have variables, and the ontology of the program
includes the sets from which these variables take values. For example,
Mycin includes bacteria in its ontology, because some of its variables
range over bacteria (the kinds of bacteria, not individual bacteriums),
but doesn't have doctors. It actually doesn't have patients either.
epistemology - In philosophy it means the study of knowledge, its sources
and limits. Again AI usage is derived from that and remains fairly
close. AI is more concerned than most philosophers with how the
knowledge is represented. AI is concerned with "epistemologically
adequate" internal languages for programs, i.e. languages that are
adequate for representing the knowledge that can actually be obtained
with given opportunities to observe and experiment. See McCarthy and
Hayes "Some philosophical problems from the standpoint of artificial
intelligence", Machine Intelligence 4, 1969.
teleology - I haven't used it in AI, so I can't speak precisely about
AI usage. In philosophy it means explaining things by ascribing
purpose to them. Extreme examples are, "The purpose of the rainbow
is to teach us that the next time God destroys the world it will be
by fire and not by water" and "The purpose of the ant is to teach us
not to be lazy". Teleological explanations were driven out of
biology accompanied by considerable squabbling. In AI the term
might be used to refer to goal-driven programs, but then it would
seem that the usage is further from the philosophical usage.
∂17-Jul-84 1618 JMC tuplapply
To: JK
I hope to catch you before you leave, so I ask this without much thought.
Must you create tuplapply as an improvement to EKL or can it be done as
an axiom?
∂17-Jul-84 1632 JMC schedule
To: JK
I will also be making trips, so I wonder if you could let me know your
summer schedule, so I could plan to interesect? My own schedule is
in cal[1,jmc].
∂17-Jul-84 1709 JMC @(x1)
To: bmoore@SRI-AI.ARPA
I have been reading your "A formal theory of knowledge and action"
which I have found very clear. In particular it clears up some problems
left unsettled in my 1979 "First order theories of individual concepts
and propositions". I hadn't understood properly Quine's doubts about
quantifying in and Kripke's rigid designator solution to the problem.
However, this message actually is a question. On p. 34 I encounter @(x1).
Did I miss a previous explanation of what it means? If so, where? If not,
what does it mean?
∂17-Jul-84 1717 JMC
To: bmoore@SRI-AI.ARPA
Found it. We need a string search for paper.
∂17-Jul-84 1752 JMC Adler
To: bscott@SU-SCORE.ARPA
I will not be in at 8:30, but if she seems reasonable, phone me
at home 857-0672. I could conceivably see her at 9:30 or even 9,
but I have a meeting at SRI at 10.
∂17-Jul-84 1817 JMC News from France.
To: CLT
It's favorable for future trips. The Prime Minister has resigned
as was expected, and his replacement, Laurent Fabius, is not the
man the Centre Mondial had feared. I suppose, however, that if
the Centre hasn't got its money, there will be further delays.
∂17-Jul-84 2143 JMC re: DEC position on magnetic tape (from SAIL's BBOARD)
To: OTHER-SU-BBOARDS@SU-AI.ARPA
jmc - What a pleasure to have some information to supplement all this
speculation.
∂17-Jul-84 2152 JMC re: nuclear targeting (from SAIL's BBOARD)
To: OTHER-SU-BBOARDS@SU-AI.ARPA
jmc - I don't know what PB meant, but whoever cites this use of the
Apple as a reason for restricting its export isn't being realistic.
Surely the number of computers used for nuclear targeting is quite
small in relation even to the Russian ability to make suitable
computers. Presumably the reason for using the Apple is that most
anything will work, and perhaps that the Apple has a small enough
price so that some corners can be cut in procuring replacements
for whatever (e.g. IBM 1401) that was previously being used.
If the Russians want Apple equivalents, their agents can buy them
in Taiwan or Hong Kong. On the other hand, I approve of the
efforts to delay their acquisition of a VAX 782. Let them copy
more obsolete versions of the VAX. One can, of course, hope that
the people who made the decisions had more expertise on call than
the public relations people who had to answer the media questions.
∂17-Jul-84 2308 JMC
To: vardi@SU-AIMVAX.ARPA
CC: levesque@SRI-AI.ARPA
I have no immediate suggestion. The burst of interest in formalization
of knowledge is quite recent. I would suggest the preparation of a
bibliography on the subject and the circulation of papers to people
who have written about the subject. It might be worthwhile to organize
a conference on the subject and a special issue of Artificial
Intelligence. However, I have fallen behind in the knowledge literature,
because I have been concentrating on non-monotonic reasoning and
on my book on Lisp and can't help with any of the things I am suggesting.
∂17-Jul-84 2358 JMC cs206
To: GLB
Carolyn suggests that you might be interested in TAing CS206. Are you?
∂18-Jul-84 0007 JMC new scheme for dynamic compression
To: rah@S1-A.ARPA, llw@S1-A.ARPA
Spacecraft in a variety of orbits in the earth-moon system can adjust them
by throwing balls back and forth. However, if they want to change the
total angular momentum of the system, they must throw them around the
moon. Whether this is feasible depends on whether it is possible to
accelerate suitable objects to velocities close to escape velocity and
whether it is possible to throw them accurately enough and catch them
accurately enough. There is also a question of the inventory of mass
required in flying balls compared to the requirements for adjusting
orbits. Comment?
∂18-Jul-84 1304 JMC
To: DFH
I prefer the 2pm flight.
∂18-Jul-84 1705 JMC
To: DFH
harper.1
∂18-Jul-84 2304 JMC Sato
To: macken@SU-CSLI.ARPA
CC: RWW@SU-AI.ARPA
Masahiko Sato from Tokyo University, to whom CSLI has allocated a desk,
has arrived. I will not be here on Thursday, and maybe he will be too
busy or tired to come in. However, if he does, please help him. He
is staying temporarily with Richard Weyhrauch, who is reachable as
RWW@SAIL. I'll be back on Friday. Thanks for your help.
∂18-Jul-84 2315 JMC Sato
To: betsy@SU-CSLI.ARPA
CC: RWW@SU-AI.ARPA
Professor Masahiko Sato from Tokyo University, to whom CSLI has allocated
office space, has arrived. I will be away tomorrow and back Friday, and
most likely everything can wait till then. Richard Weyhrauch, RWW@SAIL
is his host temporarily and may bring him around. Please help him if so.
∂19-Jul-84 0848 JMC
To: DFH
∂19-Jul-84 0844 HST visit
john,I have overlooked the fact that my flight is already on friday,that is
tomorrow.I try to shift it to saturday but it semms not to work.Would it
make trouble at the faculty club if I arrive tomorrow?Herbert
∂19-Jul-84 2033 JMC
To: DFH
∂19-Jul-84 1518 HST visit
john, this overwrites my last messages.Because i found no access to you
and here is still something to be done I changed my fly to monday (I could'nt
change to saturday).I gave a talk on LISP-history today and it seems to
have made its way.Are you interested that I do that in Stanford?
∂19-Jul-84 2034 JMC
To: GLB
Fall quarter.
∂19-Jul-84 2047 Mailer failed mail returned
To: JMC
In processing the following command:
MAIL/su
The following message was unsent because of a command error:
------- Begin undelivered message: -------
∂19-Jul-84 2047 JMC SMP
Inference Corp. 213 417-7997
Fifth Floor
5300 West Century Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90045
------- End undelivered message -------
∂19-Jul-84 2047 Mailer failed mail returned
To: JMC
In processing the following command:
MAIL/su
The following message was unsent because of a command error:
------- Begin undelivered message: -------
∂19-Jul-84 2047 JMC SMP
Inference Corp. 213 417-7997
Fifth Floor
5300 West Century Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90045
------- End undelivered message -------
∂19-Jul-84 2050 JMC SMP
To: cc.winfrey@COLUMBIA-20.ARPA
Inference Corp. 213 417-7997
Fifth Floor
5300 West Century Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90045
∂20-Jul-84 0918 JMC smp
To: cc.winfrey@COLUMBIA-20.ARPA
I haven't used SMP. It covers the same ground as Macsyma, which
I have used slightly. Inference will cheerfully send you brochures,
and, with the slightest encouragement, a salesman. It is now available
on the VAX and the Apollo and will shortly be available on more
machines.
∂20-Jul-84 1004 JMC
To: DFH
Please send Dick's an my Qlambdda paper to Charles Williams at Inference.
∂20-Jul-84 1447 JMC
To: bscott@SU-SCORE.ARPA
I will be in the East between Monday am and Thursday am. However, I would
like to settle the matter sooner. Therefore, I'll talk to Zohar about
her and about setting up a meeting this weekend.
∂20-Jul-84 1450 JMC
To: pack@SU-SCORE.ARPA
Dynamic logic is Vaughan Pratt's and David Harel's idea. A specific paper
doesn't come to mind. You can call Vaughan at Sun Microsystems or look in
the library. My negative reaction was related to my previous negative
opinion about it as a formalism for proving facts about programs. I am
somewhat more open-minded about its possible adaptability as an AI
∂20-Jul-84 2234 JMC
To: pack@SU-SCORE.ARPA
Only the one word "formalism." got lost. I'll think over the weekend about
whether I have something to suggest to you. Mainly I'm thinking about
my AAAI presidential address "What is common sense", and I should be
able to chip something concrete of that block. (to mix a few metaphors).
I'll be away from Monday afternoon thru Thursday, so perhaps I won't
have anything till I come back.
What is your impression of common sense summer?
∂21-Jul-84 0953 JMC
To: jm01@CMU-CS-A.ARPA
How much is it for how much work?
∂21-Jul-84 1118 JMC
To: RWW
You might phone Betty Scott if there might be something funny.
∂22-Jul-84 0956 JMC
To: RPG
Sarah will drive me (us). My flight is UA58 at 2pm getting in at 9:50.
Are you on that now?
∂22-Jul-84 1748 JMC
To: simonds@CMU-CS-C.ARPA
What is the present situation re the library project?
∂23-Jul-84 1042 JMC
To: RPG
Look at hep[e84,jmc]. We might offer it as a memento to the ARPA people.
∂26-Jul-84 2141 JMC Sato Account
To: gotelli@SU-SCORE.ARPA
CC: ME@SU-AI.ARPA, MS@SU-AI.ARPA
I intended to mail you a message authorizing charging that account
to my DARPA contract, but evidently I forgot to do it before going to
Washington.
∂26-Jul-84 2143 JMC
To: HST
Sorry about confusion with Faculty Club. I'll be in tomorrow around 11am.
∂27-Jul-84 1921 JMC
To: elyse@SU-SCORE.ARPA
Don't send ordinary mail to jmc-lists, send it to jmc@sail. jmc-lists
is for junk mail, i.e. mail from mailing lists, e.g. faculty@score.
You can mail directly to Sato as MS@SAIL.
∂27-Jul-84 1942 JMC (a.b) is not the same as (a . b) in Common Lisp
To: IAM, CLT
Common Lisp, like Zetalisp, allows the inclusion of . in atoms,
so that (a.b) is a list of one element. The book should be
changed accordingly.
∂29-Jul-84 1534 JMC
To: HST
I think the Computer Science Library has them.
∂29-Jul-84 2001 JMC
To: CLT
Please phone.
∂29-Jul-84 2139 JMC mail
To: HST
∂29-Jul-84 2122 @MIT-MC:MINSKY@MIT-OZ mail
Received: from MIT-MC.ARPA by SU-AI.ARPA with TCP; 29 Jul 84 21:22:34 PDT
Date: Mon 30 Jul 84 00:21-EDT
From: Marvin Minsky <MINSKY%MIT-OZ@MIT-MC.ARPA>
Subject: mail
To: jmc@SU-AI
I got a bunch of editing remarks from Stoyan, but my mail
file got clobbered. If you see him, could you ask him to re-send it?
-- Marvin
∂29-Jul-84 2140 JMC Stoyan
To: minsky%oz@MIT-MC.ARPA
I have forwarded your message. HST@SAIL gets him, however, even when
he is back in Germany.
∂30-Jul-84 0002 JMC bboard reading
To: su-bboards@SU-AI.ARPA
Recently there has been complaint about certain classes of messages
on the bboards. Some people don't like job advertisements, others
don't like announcements on behalf of non computer users, still others
don't like flames. We need a program for reading bboard selectively.
Curiously enough, there such a program already, namely NS on SAIL.
NS permits a person to selectively read the AP and New York Times
news files. These files are much larger than bboard, amounting
to the equivalent of about 300 flames per day.
Here's the proposal.
1. The user mails to su-bboard just as today.
2. An adaptation of the SAIL NS server uses an adaptation of CKSUM
to keep notice new pages added to the file. Each page is added to
the concordance and added to a file in the same format as the
news file.
3. The NS user program is used to read the news. It has the following
features already.
a. a user gives a boolean combination of words and gets
the items containing words matching this expression. Thus if I use
the expression MCCARTHY+JMC+CSD+COMPUTER*SCIENCE+LOGIC+MTC, I'll
get messages that contain synonyms for myself, the department and certain
scientific topics.
b. I can arrange to be notified of any items matching an expression.
NS has many other features that will be as useful in reading bboards as
they are in reading the news.
4. I propose two improvements to NS.
a. Reference to phrases is permitted.
b. The sender, the sending machine, the date and other
items are entered in the NS item in such a way that they can
be included in the boolean expressions.
c. A user is expected to classify his message by incorporating
one or more items like $FOR SALE or $FLAME, and a user can include
these classifications in his keyword expression. For example, as
an addicted bboard reader I might use the expression
#-(SENDER=JMC)-FOR SALE-HOUSING-JOB,
and this would get me everything but my own messages and those identified
by subject as involving items for sale, housing and job opportunities.
The best approach would be to try the system on SAIL first,
then on the TOPS-20s and finally on the benighted VAXen.
∂30-Jul-84 1016 JMC
To: golub@SU-SCORE.ARPA
I am interested in a visit from Hughes and Sheeran, and I will be here
on Friday the 17th. There aren't a lot interested in functional programming
here outside my group. There are people interested in formal methods in
VLSI, but perhaps Jeff would know better than I who is appropriate.
∂30-Jul-84 1307 JMC Council meeting
To: aaai-office@SUMEX-AIM.ARPA
∂30-Jul-84 1235 SHORTLIFFE@SUMEX-AIM.ARPA Council meeting
Received: from SUMEX-AIM.ARPA by SU-AI.ARPA with TCP; 30 Jul 84 12:34:55 PDT
Date: Mon 30 Jul 84 12:31:06-PDT
From: Ted Shortliffe <Shortliffe@SUMEX-AIM.ARPA>
Subject: Council meeting
To: jmc@SU-AI.ARPA
Office: Room TC-135, Stanford Med Center; Phone: (415) 497-6979
John,
I regret that I didn't know about my election to the Council in time
to make arrangements to be in Austin for the AAAI this year. I had other
commitments that week and was not planning on attending. I'll of course
be sure to attend Council meetings in the future now that I know far enough
in advance. Please let me know if there is anything I can do at a distance
despite my absence this year.
Thanks,
Ted
-------
∂30-Jul-84 1310 JMC missing the AAAI Council meeting
To: Shortliffe@SUMEX-AIM.ARPA
CC: aaai-office@SUMEX-AIM.ARPA, bledsoe@UTEXAS-20.ARPA
Sorry you won't be able to make it. The Council has physical meetings
only at conferences, but there is a lot of net correspondence, and we
may have telephone meetings in the future.
∂30-Jul-84 1342 JMC library project
To: simonds@CMU-CS-C.ARPA
Thanks for informing me of your plans. I received a copy of Mike's
administrative memo with which I substantially agree. He is a little
more definite about what I would do than I really am, but that's ok.
How are finances coming? Did the Government change put everything on
hold? Mike also told me by phone that he has prepared a revised
version of the proposed article by JJSS, himself and myself. In
that connection, please transmit the following to JJSS.
Subject: authorship of paper
I think there are good reasons for having all three names on the article.
1. Mine because I wrote the draft.
2. Yours because it expresses the fact that we're discussing plans as
well as aspirations.
3. Mike's because he is going to do the work. We want people
in the French computer, library and publishing communities to
contact him with their offers to help.
I thought of these considerations right away, but I have a tendency
to delay until I have had time to formulate my ideas properly. In
this case, there was no good reason for delaying until now. This
message was triggered by a phone call from Mike in which he mentioned
that he had made some revisions. He also offered to prepare the French
version.
Also I received a copy of the memo you asked him to send you about
the project and I still think the Centre Mondial should make every
effort to meet his requirements.
∂30-Jul-84 1414 JMC the dry runs
To: hobbs@SRI-AI.ARPA
Jerry, I'm going to miss your dry run, because I have to be in Washington.
I hadn't thought of it before, but actually it would be good for me to
give a dry run of my own AAAI presentation. Do you suppose anyone would
be interested in hearing it tomorrow afternoon or even Wednesday morning?
The title of my presidential address is "What is Common Sense?".
∂30-Jul-84 1553 JMC
To: churd@SU-SCORE.ARPA
That's Saturday, and I expect to be back then from AAAI, so if you mean
Saturday, that will be fine.
∂30-Jul-84 2141 JMC re: About Advertisements on BBoard (from SAIL's BBOARD)
To: OTHER-SU-BBOARDS@SU-AI.ARPA
jmc - I suspect that the prospect of even the work involved in adapting
NS will induce a widespread satisfaction with the present system.
However, if someone wants to do it, we could try it and see what pinches.
The keywords are optional, but some people will not look at messages that
don't have them. I am even more dubious that anyone will implement Nagle's
suggestion. I would supervise a CS293 just to get NS adapted.
∂31-Jul-84 0148 JMC account
To: symonds@CMU-CS-C.ARPA
Francoise Derray conjectures that my bank account in Marseilles has
been closed. Please ask someone to find out what happened to the
money that has already been deposited in it by the Centre Mondial.
∂31-Jul-84 0151 JMC bank account
To: simonds@CMU-CS-C.ARPA
Francoise Derray conjectures that my bank account in Marseilles has
been closed. Please ask someone to find out what happened to the
money that has already been deposited in it by the Centre Mondial.
∂31-Jul-84 0914 JMC
To: bscott@SU-SCORE.ARPA
OK about Adler.
∂31-Jul-84 0916 JMC
To: DFH
Rutie Adler is coming August 27.
∂31-Jul-84 1035 Mailer failed mail returned
To: JMC
In processing the following command:
MAIL/su
The following message was unsent because of a command error:
------- Begin undelivered message: -------
∂31-Jul-84 1035 JMC #ECLnet
publisher's prize session
Yes, I'll chair it.
------- End undelivered message -------
∂31-Jul-84 1401 JMC Sarah
To: bscott@SU-SCORE.ARPA
Sarah is a good worker but has little relevant experience. I told her the
amount, and she's pleased. Anyway I defer to your judgment.
∂31-Jul-84 1405 JMC Sjodin file
To: DFH
∂31-Jul-84 1403 ELYSE@SU-SCORE.ARPA Sjodin file
Received: from SU-SCORE.ARPA by SU-AI.ARPA with TCP; 31 Jul 84 14:03:01 PDT
Date: Tue 31 Jul 84 14:01:24-PDT
From: Elyse J. Krupnick <ELYSE@SU-SCORE.ARPA>
Subject: Sjodin file
To: jmc@SU-AI.ARPA
Do you have the Gunnar Sjodin file? Gene thought it might be with you.
If you do please let me know and I'll come and get it.
Elyse
-------
∂31-Jul-84 1500 JMC
To: SJG
I'd like to use your macros today or tonight but need more help if you can.
∂31-Jul-84 1547 JMC
To: DFH
Call Susie.
∂01-Aug-84 0043 JMC
To: brachman@SRI-KL.ARPA
Thanks for slide info.
∂01-Aug-84 0228 JMC
To: DFH
Please arrange to have a slide projector available Saturday.
∂03-Aug-84 2333 JMC Sato's office lives
To: betsy@SU-CSLI.ARPA
CC: barwise@SU-CSLI.ARPA, sato@SU-CSLI.ARPA
In the first place, his name is Sato not Soto. Second, I have been away,
so I haven't seen him. In the third place, he logged out from Turing at
5:39pm, so he was under your nose somewhere. In the fourth place,
ordinary mail to me should be sent to JMC@SAIL. JMC-LISTS is for junk
mail, i.e. mail sent to mailing lists. In the fifth place, I hereby
transmit your assurance that the office is really his, and the idea that
it was available for some other use was a misunderstanding.
∂04-Aug-84 1401 JMC Kuo
To: john@SU-CSLI.ARPA
If initiator money is what Jon told me about a few months ago, i.e.
money from CSLI, I am indeed willing to spend some of it on Victor.
∂05-Aug-84 0818 JMC
To: GHG@SU-AI.ARPA
It can be done but not simply. The simplest way is to telnet to SAIL,
log in again and use the photo feature of the telnet program. Otherwise,
you can come in via SCORE and use the photo feature of SCORE.
∂11-Aug-84 0010 JMC knowledge
To: vardi%imb-sj.csnet@CSNET-RELAY.ARPA
I would like a copy of "A Model-Theoretic Analysis ..."
∂11-Aug-84 0013 JMC mail name
To: haunga@SU-SCORE.ARPA
Mail from an individual should go to JMC@SAIL. JMC-LISTS@SAIL is for
junk mail, i.e. mail sent to mailing lists.
∂11-Aug-84 0851 JMC special offer
To: vardi%ibm-sj.csnet@CSNET-RELAY.ARPA
I would like a copy of "A Model-Theoretic Analysis ..."
∂11-Aug-84 1017 JMC promoting basic research in AI
To: bledsoe@UTEXAS-20.ARPA
This didn't occur to me Wednesday.
Much of the complaint about the conference, etc. amounts to saying
that basic research in AI is getting short shrift compared to applications.
As a scientific society, AAAI should promote basic research, and it occurs
to me that there are several ways of doing it.
1. It is possible to make the argument that the ratio of basic research
to applied research in AI should be higher than in other sciences, because
the applications being presently attempted are jeopardized by lack of
basic knowledge.
2. I think it will be effective to jawbone various organizations doing AI
to put more effort into basic research. I attacked Gomory last Fall about
IBM's lack of participation in AAAI Conferences, and they did much better
this time. At least they had a booth. I also have argued with TI people
about this. In each case the arguments were listened to.
3. It might also be effective to needle DARPA and NSF (perhaps even MCC)?
ICOT needs to be pushed in that direction, but that's not really our
business.
Therefore, I suggest that you appoint a committee on basic research
in AI. I volunteer to be chairman. The committee would consider what AAAI
could do to improve the state of basic research. However, I would welcome
the appointment as a base from which to continue and intensify arguing with
organizations doing research in AI to do more basic research.
∂11-Aug-84 1042 JMC another goof
To: aaai-office@SUMEX-AIM.ARPA
I forgot to make a tape of my talk. Do you know anyone who has a
tape from which I could make a transcript to help prepare the
written version?
∂11-Aug-84 1834 JMC expense reports
To: DFH
Please find out how to do expense reports. I have several trips to do,
and Carolyn has one. Dick Gabriel will have one when he returns.
∂11-Aug-84 1949 JMC semi-apology
To: CLT
I shouldn't have bothered you about leaving the things on my terminal
even though you shouldn't have left them there. When we squabble, neither
of us can work for a while. So we should both be careful to avoid them.
Love,
∂12-Aug-84 1522 JMC non-monotonic
To: doyle@CMU-CS-C.ARPA
In connection with the references for the written version of my
AAAI talk, I'm interested in the source of "non-monotonic" in
your and McDermott's non-monotonic logic. I believe my use of it
in my 1977 paper was independent, but I heard a rumor that Marvin
was using the term even earlier, perhaps as a part of a denunciation
of logic. Also is McDermott reachable on the net, and what are his
phone numbers if you know them?
∂12-Aug-84 1606 JMC "non-monotonic"
To: mcdermott@YALE.ARPA
In connection with writing up my speech, I'm interested in when
you started using the term "non-monotonic" in connection with logic.
I suppose "default logic" or "default reasoning" is earlier, but
I would be interested in dates on that also. I referred to circumscription
as "not monotonic" in my 1977 IJCAI paper and imagine that my usage is
independent of others. Also what are your phone numbers?
∂12-Aug-84 2105 JMC timing
To: CLT
We forgot the time required to go from the intersection to the fountain.
Taking that into account it takes you four minutes to go from the
intersection via the fountain and two minutes if I take you the
long way. However, it takes me two more minutes driving if I take
you the long way than if I take you to the fountain. So the tradeoff
is two minutes of my time for two minutes of yours. But then if I
take you around I get one more minute of your company and less worry
about bad guys. So it all depends.
∂13-Aug-84 1431 JMC
To: DFH
Please send David Chudnovsky a copy of Gabriel &McC and my vita.
∂13-Aug-84 1837 JMC Veronica Dahl honorarium
To: bscott@SU-SCORE.ARPA, DFH@SU-AI.ARPA, pereira@SRI-AI.ARPA
I forgot to arrange to pay a promised honorarium for Veronica Dahl for a lecture
on March 17. I would like to make it $200 out of my unrestricted account.
How do we do this? Fernando, do you have her social security number.
If he doesn't, Sarah, please phone her at Simon Fraser University in
Vancouver, B.C.
∂13-Aug-84 2206 JMC advice
To: llw@S1-A.ARPA
I will hope to be able to get your advice between the time they call me
and the time of the interview. Thanks for your help and the offer.
∂14-Aug-84 1145 JMC S1 & NCC
To: other-su-bboards@SU-AI.ARPA
jmc - One of the reasons why Stanford is a great university is that a few
people can think about how one could make an operating system better than
Unix, WAITS and TOPS-20. Anyone interested in taking part in a project
to develop an editor-based operating system written in Common Lisp is
invited to communicate with me.
∂14-Aug-84 1326 JMC Gentle introduction
To: touretzky@CMU-CS-A.ARPA
1. Maybe it's too gentle. Have you checked that the least able
students that can actually learn Lisp don't find some parts too long-winded.
2. There should be at least a few hard problems for the ambitious.
3. There should be a remark about what if nil occurs as a member of
a list given to FIND-IF and satisfies the predicate.
4. The statement that INTERSECTION has an identity element in set theory
is not true without qualification. In ZF, the most popular axiomatic set
there is no universal set. This is a consequence of the restriction on
comprehension used to avoid Russell's paradox. Indeed adding an axiom
asserting the existence of a universal set, e.g. asserting it to be
an identity for INTERSECTION, would make the system inconsistent.
5. Too bad the dragon doesn't incinerate Martin in the end. Perhaps the
dragon should threaten to do so if a certain program has a bug, and the
reader is challenged to determine Martin's fate, i.e. find an input
for which a program loops.
I haven't read the whole book. In fact I started with the chapter
on conditionals. It reads well.
Best Regards,
∂14-Aug-84 1415 JMC editor based operating system
To: ashok@SU-SCORE.ARPA
Most likely this project is on too long a time scale for your programming
project. It involves IBM giving us some computers (unannounced) and money
and a Common Lisp and an existing operating system that has the right
hooks. We would do the user interface parts. I would be glad to discuss
it with you if you are interested.
∂14-Aug-84 1551 JMC lights
To: VAL
To impress McDermott, time would have to be continuous. My impression
is that this would not be difficult.
∂14-Aug-84 1731 JMC
To: DFH
brown.1
∂14-Aug-84 1939 JMC
To: DFH
Pls. pub fredki.1. There's a return envelope in my OUT box.
∂15-Aug-84 0142 JMC jmctst
To: CLT
jmctst[b2,jmc] presently contains my draft of the first section of chapter 1.
I've forgotten how to TEX it. Does it need LATEX, or will your current
set of macros work? I'd like to take a copy with me to L.A. to tinker with
on the airplane.
∂15-Aug-84 1021 JMC
To: GLB
Have you decided about TAing CS206 this Fall?
∂15-Aug-84 2129 JMC
To: RPG
I think Fahlman is right about competitive finger pointing being bad.
∂16-Aug-84 0929 JMC advice
To: llw@S1-A.ARPA
Any time after 9 this evening would be convenient for me. I'll start
phoning then to you office unless I get a message proposing a more
specific time.
∂16-Aug-84 1239 JMC debate with Searle
To: talmy@UCBKIM.ARPA
I don't have extensive notes. However, I do have a note that Searle
agreed in principle to a discussion (debate) on the first person vs.
third person view of epistemology. Sept. 4 is ok.
∂16-Aug-84 1523 JMC misunderstanding
To: bledsoe@UTEXAS-20.ARPA
I'm not aware that we gave Claudia a bonus. Rich and I decided to
give her a $5000 raise in salary for next year.
∂16-Aug-84 1532 JMC
To: CLT
kowali.1
∂16-Aug-84 1541 JMC
To: DFH
kowali.1
∂16-Aug-84 1541 JMC
To: CLT
Disregard previous message.
∂16-Aug-84 2208 JMC
To: georgeff@SRI-AI.ARPA
I'm planning to drive and can give rides down to up to three people.
I will probably return at the same time as everyone else but don't
want to guarantee it.
∂17-Aug-84 1813 JMC mt-st-coax and iguana
To: PW
CC: RPG
I tried both. Loggin in on mt-st-coax gets a message that it can't
find IGUANA:>JMC>lispm-init.bin and one other. This suggests that you
moved my files but forgot to tell mt-st-coax. tn iguana gets
Trying Internet 36.8.0.26 ... connection was reset
followed by
Tryig Ethernet 10#32 ...
and an eventual timeout.
Also there is no indication of how to abort or do other such things
from SAIL.
A memo is required.
∂17-Aug-84 2223 JMC editor-based operating systems
To: almquist@SU-SCORE.ARPA
You understood correctly. The advantage of making the operating
system editor-based is that the full facilities of the editor are
available for composing input to any program, including the monitor.
Previous input can be re-edited to make new input. Output from any
interaction is available to be put into arbitrary files or to be made
available for input. The ability to operate the system and other programs
out of the E editor was recently added to the WAITS operating system and
has proved very useful. The standard facilities on the Lisp machine are
not quite as good, but Jussi Ketonen has made some improvements that
approximate the E facilities. The operating system needs to have the
hooks to be operated out of a program, and then it can be operated out of
any editor. This means that all interactions must be by system calls
and/or character strings and/or pointers to list structures. No mouse or
other pointing facilities should be fundamental. Thus if used, mouse
pointing and clicking must be equivalent to ordinary system commands.
The E facilities are regarded as a big improvement, and it is
annoying when they can't be used. This occurs in some telnet situations
and when the program with which one is interacting requires control of the
display. The view that operating systems should be editor-based is
now rather popular.
∂18-Aug-84 1119 JMC
To: bscott@SU-SCORE.ARPA
Yes, please notify them.
∂18-Aug-84 1129 JMC workshop on combining AI and numerical computation
To: bledsoe@UTEXAS-20.ARPA
I have approved the workshop proposed in the attached letter. The
truth is that I'm MAILing you this partly to show off the new toy -
namely the DEST machine for reading typescript into the computer.
The Stanford Business School got one last week and connected it
to one of their 20s.
Boeing Computer Services
P.O. Box 24346
Seattle, Wash. 98124
G-6070-JSK-053
August 13, 1984
Dear Professor McCarthy,
Thank you for your interest in my suggestion of organizing an AAAI
sponsored workshop on the subject of multilevel expert systems that
combine intensive numerical computation with heuristic reasoning.
There are many industrial and scientific problems that would require
expert systems capable not only of reasoning but also of making use of
analytical power of scientific software, such as numerical analysis or
simulation. Such expert systems, I believe, will be imbedded in larger
and more traditional software systems.
Not much has been published about the design and the use of such
multilevel expert programs and most of the currently discussed expert
systems are the surface level systems, for example, rule-based. I have
talked with several attendees of the AAAI-84 Conference and detected
serious interest in the subject.
I suggest the following format of the workshops:
1. Topic: Expert systems combining symbolic reasoning with
intensive numerical computation.
2. Attendance by invitation, limited to about 50 people.
3. The workshop will be announced in the AI magazine and
potential participants will apply of attendance.
4. Place: Seattle; date: Spring or Summer, 1985.
5. A brief report with abstracts will be published after the
workshop.
6. The AAAI grant of $5,000 will be used mainly to support
participants from academia.
I have considerable experience in organizing and chairing scientific
meetings. In the last two years, I organized and chaired a NATO
supported workshop on high-speed computing in Germany and a Boeing
sponsored conference on, "Computer Science in Aerλspace".
Sincerely yours,
Janusz S. Kowalik
Artificial Intelligence Center
cc: Claudia Mazzetti
AAAI
445 Burgess Drive
Menlo Park, CA 94025
Bruce Wilson
George Roberts
Enclosure
∂18-Aug-84 1137 JMC letters read into computer
To: DFH
I have created a new disk area IN,JMC for such letters. The two letters
you read in for me are KOWALI.1 and FREDKI.1. There is also a file
in that area called FILES that lists them. Any new letters read in
should be put in that area and entered in FILES[IN,JMC].
∂20-Aug-84 2041 JMC
To: crispin@SU-SCORE.ARPA
CC: bosack@SU-SCORE.ARPA
Sure, give D.E.C. or the Computer Museum whatever they find interesting.
As for other local historical stuff, you may borrow whatever you like
assuming you can find it. I don't have much myself.
∂20-Aug-84 2046 JMC Re: Promotion papers
To: RPG
∂20-Aug-84 1018 GOLUB@SU-SCORE.ARPA Re: Promotion papers
Received: from SU-SCORE.ARPA by SU-AI.ARPA with TCP; 20 Aug 84 10:17:56 PDT
Mail-From: BSCOTT created at 20-Aug-84 10:15:20
Date: Mon 20 Aug 84 10:15:20-PDT
From: Betty Scott <BSCOTT@SU-SCORE.ARPA>
Subject: Re: Promotion papers
To: GOLUB@SU-SCORE.ARPA
cc: BSCOTT@SU-SCORE.ARPA
In-Reply-To: Message from "Gene Golub <GOLUB@SU-SCORE.ARPA>" of Mon 20 Aug 84 09:33:26-PDT
ReSent-Date: Mon 20 Aug 84 10:16:36-PDT
ReSent-From: Gene Golub <GOLUB@SU-SCORE.ARPA>
ReSent-To: jmc@SU-AI.ARPA
Gene, Dick Gabriel has been a Senior Research Associate since April. He's
John McCarthy's research associate.
Betty
-------
∂21-Aug-84 1150 JMC iii consulting
To: DFH
iii.8[let,jmc] can be copied and filled in with the new info for
the bill to iii. Include a note asking for more expense forms.
∂21-Aug-84 1200 JMC
To: twalker@SRI-AI.ARPA
I plan to attend the farewell to common sense.
∂21-Aug-84 1203 JMC
To: talmy@UCBKIM.ARPA
I can give my AAAI talk, and the 11th would be best for me.
∂21-Aug-84 1210 JMC
To: talmy@UCBKIM.ARPA
In case you need a definition of the question for an announcement, here's
one, but if John Searle wants to elaborate it or modify it, I agree in
advance.
Is epistemology, the theory of knowledge, best considered from the first
person or the third person point of view. Is the question "How do I know?"
or "How does he (it) know?"? John Searle favors the first person and
John McCarthy the third person point of view.
∂21-Aug-84 1735 JMC interactive style
To: greep@SU-DSN.ARPA
I think you are right about the present confusion of ways of interacting
with programs. Specifying and making available a uniform style would
be a great benefit. I also agree with some of your specific ideas, although
they are far from specific enough. Interacting through an editor
mitigates some of these problems, because the editor is available for
combining new and old input, correcting it, and filing output and using
some of it for input. An editor that could transform input, e.g. put
in defaults and which could be down-loaded with macros from by a
program might mitigate more of them. I am somewhat optimistic that
there might be a thesis-sized fit between your interests and mine.
I definitely consider the development of a uniform interactive style
and a device independent way of specifying interaction to be a suitable
PhD thesis topic.
∂21-Aug-84 2257 JMC common sense lecture
To: talmy@UCBKIM.ARPA
Let me hold off a few days on committing myself to Sept 11. Sept. 4
is definite.
∂21-Aug-84 2258 JMC
To: golub@SU-SCORE.ARPA
Sept 11 is possible though not good.
∂21-Aug-84 2259 JMC DEST
To: sandy@SU-GSB-WHY.ARPA
I would like to know the name of their CEO and their address and phone.
∂22-Aug-84 0835 JMC unify
To: IAM, CLT
Your unify looks ok to me. I notice that it aggressively uses the
logical interpretation of null and non-null in the boolean connectives.
I would very much like to see a fully formal, i.e. EKL, proof of
properties of this unify. Incidentally, what properties do you
plan to prove?
∂22-Aug-84 1436 JMC teaching
To: goguen@SRI-AI.ARPA
There is a program called the industry lectureship. A lecturer gives
a one quarter course for which he is paid 1/16 of his annual salary
or $4K, whichever is lower (unless his employer contributes his services).
I need a course description suitable for unmodified inclusion in the
Stanford catalog by 1985 February 1. There are three lecturers in
each academic year, and the courses are listed in the catalog, which
is the reason for the closing date.
∂22-Aug-84 1502 JMC
To: MS
CC: CLT
You can have the Datamedia terminal in room 362.
∂22-Aug-84 1608 JMC
To: CLT
I don't remember how much I have about Loglisp. It would be on the
Lisp and Prolog shelves right next to the door of my office. Sarah
or Ian could look.
∂22-Aug-84 1649 JMC
To: waksman@SRI-KL.ARPA
May I be of assistance?
∂22-Aug-84 1650 JMC
To: aaw@SRI-KL.ARPA
May I be of assistance?
∂23-Aug-84 0916 JMC dest
To: sandy@SU-GSB-WHY.ARPA
Thanks, Sandy.
∂23-Aug-84 1457 JMC discussion with Searle
To: talmy@UCBKIM.ARPA
Searle's proposals are ok with me. I welcome the broadening.
∂24-Aug-84 1210 JMC thoughts
To: hobbs@SRI-AI.ARPA
I hope to have extensive comments soon. My general conclusion will be
that success requires some more definite methodology than was used this
summer, but I will only be able to offer some ideas on what this
methodology should be. Thanks for tolerating my unsystematic interventions
which must have often been at cross purposes with the way you were
planning the meetings to go.
∂24-Aug-84 1229 JMC ultracomputer offer
To: ullman@SU-SCORE.ARPA
I received your message about the IBM ultracomputer offer and have
not had time to react. Of course, I favor it, and it provides a
possible way of realizing QLAMBDA. Whether it is the most
appropriate way depends on a several factors.
1. Whether I will be involved. I had planned to be, but Dick Gabriel's
departure leaves me without someone to take charge of implementation.
2. Timing. Perhaps something more modest but available sooner would
be better.
3. Operating plan. My plan called for the implementation of first
QLAMBDA, then MACSYMA, and then its use by heavy symbolic computers
such as David and Gregory Chudnovsky. The reason for MACSYMA and its
use is related to my opinion that parallelization is appropriately
done algorithm by algorithm and MACSYMA contains a lot of distinct
algrorithms. Its heavy use will then check out whether the hoped
for speed advantages are really obtained relative to other ways
of doing the computations.
All this means that the facility must be kept in usable condition
for a large part of the time after it is installed, and this might
not be in accordance with your or other people's plans.
Given all this, am I still a feasible collaborator?
∂24-Aug-84 1302 JMC ultracomputer offer
To: ullman@SU-SCORE.ARPA
Because of Gabriel's departure, a HEP has become less likely. How about
trying for two or three 8-processor IBM configurations in order to allow
parallel development of software and to allow the 512-processor configuration
to spend more of its time in useful computation when it is received? The
latter goal might be more readily realized if the 512 is readily partitioned.
∂25-Aug-84 1010 JMC
To: talmy@UCBKIM.ARPA
Sept. 25 is ok and is the only possible day.
∂25-Aug-84 1103 JMC title and abstract
To: talmy@UCBKIM.ARPA
Title: What is common sense thinking?
Abstract: Common sense thinking includes a certain collection of
knowledge and certain reasoning ability. Expert knowledge
including scientific knowledge fits into the framework provided
by common sense. Common sense knowledge includes facts about
the consequences of actions in the physical and psychological
worlds, facts about the properties of space, time, causality
and physical and social objects. Common sense reasoning includes
both logical deductive and various kinds of non-monotonic reasoning.
Much common sense knowledge is not readily expressible in words,
and much that can be usually isn't.
The lecture will attempt to survey common sense knowledge
and common sense reasoning. It will be oriented toward expressing
the knowledge in languages of mathematical logic and expressing
the reasoning as deduction plus formal non-monotonic reasoning.
∂25-Aug-84 1140 JMC
To: CLT
Please check if I have the typography right in the following paragraph.
An S-expression is either an atom or a pair of S-expressions.
To write a non-atomic S-expression we write the pair of subexpressions
separated by a dot ({\sx\ .\ }) and surrounded by parentheses.
In \clisp\ the dot can occur within an atom so that {\sx A.B} is an
atom and ({\sx A.B}) is
a list of one element and getting a pair requires that the dot
be surrounded by spaces. Thus
({\sx A . B}) is an S-expression with {\sx A}
in its a-part and {\sx B} in its d-part. In many other \lisp\s the
dot need not be surrounded by spaces to get a pair.
∂25-Aug-84 1250 JMC
To: CLT
Here are the remaining \sx cases:
reada: 4p33l
readb: 2p86l,4p81l,85l,140l,5p13l
readc: 2p16l,3p183l,4p255l
∂25-Aug-84 2243 JMC
To: ME
I think it was Chris Goad's terminal.
∂26-Aug-84 0350 JMC
To: CLT
\qqad and \qqthen are underlined ad and then.
∂26-Aug-84 1715 JMC Please make sure . . .
To: RTC
CC: CLT
when you go over READIN (and WRITIN if it needs it), that all S-expressions
have their dots surrounded by spaces.
∂27-Aug-84 1002 JMC my account
To: gotelli@SU-SCORE.ARPA
jmc created my account 1,ra
∂27-Aug-84 1839 JMC
To: llw@S1-A.ARPA
I have received no summons. Perhaps it is time to prod again.
∂28-Aug-84 1145 JMC
To: RA
Professor John Osborne
Mathematics Department
University of Maryland
College Park, Maryland 20742∞
Dear Professor Osborne:
This is to accept the invitation to take part in "Logic Week"
October 22-26.
.sgn
∂28-Aug-84 1409 JMC
To: aaai-office@SUMEX-AIM.ARPA
The main goal of the Basic Research Committee is to jawbone companies
into doing and supporting more basic research in AI. I will
write up an annoucement of the committee shortly and then start
recruiting a few members from among the volunteers and few draftees.
So far Ed Feigenbaum has agreed to be a member. You'll hear more
from me.
∂28-Aug-84 2017 JMC Room 4 rent-xchange some rent for service.
To: SMC
∂28-Aug-84 1429 SHARON@SU-SCORE.ARPA Room 4 rent-xchange some rent for service.
Received: from SU-SCORE.ARPA by SU-AI.ARPA with TCP; 28 Aug 84 14:29:36 PDT
Date: Tue 28 Aug 84 14:21:24-PDT
From: Sharon Bergman <SHARON@SU-SCORE.ARPA>
Subject: Room 4 rent-xchange some rent for service.
To: su-bboards@SU-SCORE.ARPA
ROOM FOR RENT
(Exchange part of rent for service)
I have a beautiful room for rent in mid-September. I live about
8 mins. from campus in Mountain View, on the Palo Alto line.
I would like to find someone who is genuinely fond of dogs who will be
willing to feed them as necessary, let them out in the backyard and
take them on walks about 3-4 times a week. I
would also like to have someone dogsit (for 3 Miniature Schnauzers)
every once in a while on weekends. I
will reduce the rent for this service. I am working for a start-up
computer company and expect that some of the time I will be unable to
come home to feed them but I want to feel confident that my pets will
be well cared for when I am not there.
About the room itself: The room is large, sunny room that is
completely furnished with single bed, 3 new chests of drawers, oak
table and chair, easy chair, lamps and wall-to-wall carpeting. There
is a closet that runs the entire width of the room with ample storage
in addition, if needed. There is completely remodeled bathroom for
your own use with shower and tub. There is a clothes washer and dryer
in the house as well as a completely equipped kitchen with dishwasher,
microwave oven, Kitchenaid mixer, etc. You would also have use of the
den which has a sofa, easy chair, & color TV.
I am looking for a non-smoker, male or female. A sense of humor is an
asset in any tenant as is a sense of responsibilty.
The rent is usually $275 but I am willing to rent it for $240 to the
person who will dogsit for me. Utilities are split 50-50 and
telephone service is negotiable. There is a security deposit of $200.
If you are interested, please call me at home, preferably, at (415)
968-6406 or work (415) 494-3612.
Thanks,
Elyse Krupnick
-------
-------
∂29-Aug-84 0217 JMC Fascist computer programs
To: reges@SU-SCORE.ARPA
CC: su-bboards@SU-AI.ARPA
I have deleted my EMAIL address from PEDIT, because your fascist
program won't let me qualify it. You had JMC-LISTS@SAIL, but
this is only my address for junk mail, i.e. mail sent to mailing
lists. My address for mail addressed directly, i.e. not via a
list is JMC@SAIL. There is no reason except for an authoritarian
desire to correct people's mistakes why it can't accept an
arbitrary field.
∂29-Aug-84 0936 JMC
To: RA
Tell him the class will use Common Lisp, and he can get it on HP-Labs
DEC-20. However, almost all, and perhaps all, of the assignments will
be doable on Portable Standard Lisp, and he is welcome to try.
∂29-Aug-84 0941 JMC editor based operating system
To: blasgen.yktvmt.ibm@CSNET-RELAY.ARPA
Dick Gabriel is leaving to be President of a new company. I have found
some people that I believe can do the project, but I will have to tell
them soon (probably before the end of Sept.) whether the project exists.
Therefore, unless there is to be an uncertain delay for finding other
people, the matter has become urgent. I talked about this with John
Cocke when he was here.
∂29-Aug-84 0944 JMC
To: JK
With whom did you talk at NSF? Do you have a phone number?
∂29-Aug-84 1401 JMC
To: RA
I guess I hadn't been clear. I spoke to you, because he phoned again,
and I gave him the information. Now he has no excuse not to remember.
∂29-Aug-84 1527 JMC
To: RA
Mail the parking form, please.
∂29-Aug-84 1533 JMC
To: stuart@SU-SCORE.ARPA
CC: ARK@SU-AI.ARPA
ARK's explanation and proposal are both correct.
∂29-Aug-84 2216 JMC
To: JK
I am not sure I understand the question, but I don't consider
f defined as the fixed point of F as "arising from composition".
∂30-Aug-84 1017 JMC
To: JK
∂30-Aug-84 0705 JK
∂29-Aug-84 2216 JMC
I am not sure I understand the question, but I don't consider
f defined as the fixed point of F as "arising from composition".
-------------
The question is this: You have a schema in mind that so far as I understand
comes from the fixpoint schema F(f)=f. The question is, what can F be.
Obviously, F has to be continuous. One way to construct continuous
functionals is, as you pointed out, through compositions. That is,
F has to have the form
λf.h⊗f⊗g1⊗f⊗....⊗f⊗gn
where h,g1,....,gn are continuous. Is this all you want?
No. Composition has to be taken in a generalized sense so as to
include the functionals of which Lisp programs are the fixed
points. For example,
λf.λuv.if null u then v else car(u) . f(cdr u, v)
must be regarded as built from null, car, cdr, and if...then...else
by composition. If you don't want to call that composition, it is
nevertheless the process we need, and it preserves continuity.
∂30-Aug-84 1115 JMC re: Fascist computer programs (from SAIL's BBOARD)
To: OTHER-SU-BBOARDS@SU-AI.ARPA
jmc - I called the program fascist not the programmer. What is generally
accepted may not be true. It is indeed better that students (or anyone
else) learn in an environment where their work is subject to criticism
and their programs may be rejected by users. Unless they arrange it
so that I can indicate a different address for mail written to me
personally than mail I get from being on mailing lists, I will continue
to reject that program. As it happens, Stuart has offered to
restore a comment field, so I can put JMC@SU-AI in it for humans and leave
JMC-LISTS@SU-AI for the programs to read. Incidentally, I had no
problem with the on-line documentation of PEDIT. I understood what
it wanted, changed the address successfully, and then decided that
it was a bad idea to give mailing lists my personal address and therefore
had to delete the entry. Finally, it was their (I suppose Stuart's)
choice to use 1022, and I am an adherent of the proverb "A bad workman
blames his tools?". If 1022 won't allow a flexible system, then they
should put off doing it until they have a suitable tool. Perhaps
I'm being reactionary, but the great benefits of this particular
program aren't clear to me, nor is the harm I would suffer from being
left out.
∂30-Aug-84 1142 JMC
To: RA
Please cancel my hotel reservation for tonight.
∂30-Aug-84 1325 JMC
To: RA
CC: GLB
∂30-Aug-84 1204 RA D. Souza about your CS206
1. Would like to know the name of the TA for CS206.
2. Would like to know where he can find information about getting
Common LISP on Dec-20 from Stanford to HP Dec-20
The TA will be Gianluigi Bellin 497-1517 and GLB@su-ai.
Gianluigi doesn't know
about how to transfew Common Lisp yet, but he'll have to.
Have you met him?
∂30-Aug-84 1517 JMC
To: RA
indefinite
∂30-Aug-84 2200 JMC damage by carpet cleaners
To: bscott@SU-SCORE.ARPA
CC: CLT@SU-AI.ARPA, DRF@SU-AI.ARPA
Last time carpets in MJH were cleaned, the cleaners stacked chairs on
desks, breaking things. Several people, including the above two,
experienced this. Can they be warned that they will be held financially
responsible for damage done?
I assume it's an outside outfit.
∂30-Aug-84 2203 JMC damage by carpet cleaners
To: bscott@SU-SCORE.ARPA
CC: CLT@SU-AI.ARPA, DRF@SU-AI.ARPA
Stanford could withhold part payment until it is ascertained that no
damage has been done.
∂31-Aug-84 1803 JMC
To: RA
That's Raj Reddy, for future information.
∂31-Aug-84 1905 JMC re: Book for sale (from SAIL's BBOARD)
To: OTHER-SU-BBOARDS@SU-AI.ARPA
jmc - I regret to spoil this, but there will be a new edition by this
Fall Quarter.
∂31-Aug-84 1908 JMC re: Small reading machine announced (from SAIL's BBOARD)
To: OTHER-SU-BBOARDS@SU-AI.ARPA
jmc - The Stanford Business School has a DEST connected to WHY. It read
two letters that I fed it quite satisfactorily.
∂31-Aug-84 2154 JMC Tuesday
To: talmy@UCBKIM.ARPA
Thanks for the directions. See you then. Do you have an
announcement suitable for posting on our BBOARD?
∂01-Sep-84 1839 JMC
To: su-bboards@SU-AI.ARPA
BERKELEY COGNITIVE SCIENCE PROGRAM
Fall 1984
Cognitive Science Seminar -- IDS 237A
TIME: Tuesday, September 4, 11-12:30pm
PLACE: 240 Bechtel Engineering Center
DISCUSSION: 12:30-2pm, 200 Building T-4
SPEAKERS: John R. Searle, Philosophy Dept, UC Berkeley
John McCarthy, Computer Science Dept, Stanford Univ.
TITLE: First Person and Third Person Points of View in
Cognitive Science, Philosophy of Mind, and Epistemology
∂02-Sep-84 1703 JMC
To: MXB
I have a slight preference for Monday October 1, but either will do.
I like your title and will prepare to discuss in that generality if
the others agree, i.e. not much about DARPA's Strategic Computing
Initiative. What time of day do you have in mind?
∂02-Sep-84 1706 JMC
To: MXB
I suggest you check spelling of Ornstein's first name. I thought Severo.
∂02-Sep-84 1708 JMC
To: MXB
The phone book agrees with me.
∂02-Sep-84 1720 JMC
To: MXB
OK, but the DARPA plan is actually only a small fraction of the money
going into defense and the money going into computing. It is even
much less than half of the money going into defense computing. The
amount of the strategic computing money going into AI research is
so far trivial, maybe nonexistent. Therefore, the effect of the
plan on either survival or prosperity is likely to be minor. My
opinion is that it will be a small benefit, probably worth its
small cost (compared to other defense efforts).
∂03-Sep-84 0011 JMC re: [Len Bosack <BOSACK@SU-SCORE.ARPA>: Tentative rates for University Fiscal Year 1985] (from SAIL's BBOARD)
To: OTHER-SU-BBOARDS@SU-AI.ARPA
jmc - Please provide a translation of disk prices into bytes. Better yet
never mention blocks in the rates.
∂03-Sep-84 1556 JMC Goto
To: MS
There are boxes for Goto at receptionist in MJH. I assume he arrived.
I will be in Berkeley most of Tuesday, but I hope to be available
Wednesday or Thursday.
∂03-Sep-84 1708 JMC reada
To: RTC, CLT, MA
I have replaced reada and readb by my new version. readc remains
as before. reada.old and readb.old are the old versions.
∂03-Sep-84 1800 JMC
To: MA
$$u * v ← \qif \qn u \qthen v \qelse \qa u \qcons [\qd u * v],$$
∂03-Sep-84 2206 JMC my next trip to Paris
To: simonds@CMU-CS-C.ARPA
Are you still there or have you returned permanently to CMU? If
the latter, who is my contact there now? Raj got me to agree
to be on the "Scientific Council" which meets Sept. 22. I have
tentatively decided to arrive on Tuesday the 18th and return
on Sunday the 23rd. Carolyn will come too. Mike is in England,
so this is tentative. However, I would like someone to make the
usual reservations at the Bristol.
∂03-Sep-84 2250 JMC
To: RTC
My contact there seems to be on vacation, but he'll be back soon.
∂04-Sep-84 1549 JMC
To: RA
See if the package from Digital is our Common Lisp Manuals. Otherwise no.
∂04-Sep-84 1635 JMC thanks
To: KUO
Thanks for the elegant abacus and card. Soon I will figure out how
to use it to send mail.
∂05-Sep-84 1145 JMC
To: reges@SU-SCORE.ARPA
Here's more junk mail from you. Please remove jmc-lists as a mailing
address for me until you have restored the comment field and have
put jmc⊗su-ai as my address for non junk mail.
∂05-Sep-84 1506 JMC
To: RA
∂05-Sep-84 1348 RA iii invoice
Do I send the receipts with the invoice?
Yes.
∂05-Sep-84 1507 JMC
To: RA
∂05-Sep-84 1356 RA
Do you have a file where you file the invoices you send?
My secretaries all filed them, but I don't know where. chron would do
faut de mieux.
∂05-Sep-84 1516 JMC
To: RA
∂05-Sep-84 1406 RA
I left a telex for you on your desk.
Reply to Servan-Schreiber Telex:
Thanks for your kind invitation to be on the Scientific Council
of the Centre Mondial. I am pleased to accept. My plan is to arrive
in Paris on the evening of Tuesday Sept. 18 and leave on Sunday Sept. 23.
I will spend the intervening time working on the electronic library project.
I believe the arrangements are being made for a Hotel Bristol reservation
for me and my wife,
and I am contacting Mike Griffiths. He is away this week, but I left a
message with his wife.
Best Regards,
John McCarthy
>Servan-Schreiber, Jean-Jacques (home: 267-0580), (telex: 643 124)
* (home-telex: 290-977)
* (chalet: 50 21 20 21)
Use the office Telex. That's in Paris. There is a communications office
at Stanford that can send Telex messages.
∂05-Sep-84 1634 JMC
To: SMC
I have proofread your version. On the whole good. There are some bugs.
∂06-Sep-84 0007 JMC
To: reges@SU-SCORE.ARPA
Please keep me on the faculty distribution list and the senior faculty
distribution list.
∂06-Sep-84 0815 JMC lost changes
To: SMC
The paper looks very good. However, some changes that I made yesterday
afternoon to the file C[1,smc] have been lost. Since these changes are
scattered throughout, I would very much like to retrieve them. What
file might they be in? Also, I would like the final version to be
circum.tex[f83,jmc] with an entry for it in the Fall 1983 page of
files[let,jmc]. When all that has been done, you should delete the
working files on 1,smc to save disk rental.
∂06-Sep-84 0913 JMC omission
To: SMC
Your latest version still omits the first introductory section. I'll fix
it, but you have to develop a way of working on such things that doesn't
omit parts. You should proofread the whole thing, before you declare it
finished.
∂06-Sep-84 1005 JMC re-arrangement
To: SMC
CC: CLT
I have copied your jmcmac.tex as memo.tex[let,jmc]. I have also copied the
material from your c.tex to the beginning and end of circum[f83,jmc] and
made it refer to memo.tex[let,jmc]. This is a different style from the
one Carolyn uses and recommends, but I think it is appropriate for files
that may sit for years without being used. You may find her style better
while the TEXing of a document is being debugged.
You will presumably have to
make additional changes to memo.tex[let,jmc]. However, the old documents
must continue to work. I also want, if there is no great obstacle, to
keep the documents printable on Boise and even on the fancy book quality
printer. Carolyn hasn't used that yet, and the expert on it is Dave
Fuchs. I think all that's involved in maintaining this compatibility
is caution in deciding on fonts and magnifications.
I tried to send the file to Boise but got a universal error message
from Boise "Boise spooling error". I don't know yet whether this
means the Boise is sick or that there is some incompatibility in
the TEX source.
∂06-Sep-84 1616 JMC TIMM
To: sandy@SU-GSB-WHY.ARPA
From the literature TIMM appears to be one of several expert system writing
systems offered for sale. Others that I know about are offered by
Inference Corp. (called ART), Intellicorp and Teknowledge. One of the
last two offers KEES. In addition there are systems in the public
domain such as Emycin (Stanford HPP) and MRS (Mike Genesereth of HPP).
My first thought was that if one was to be bought (the price mentioned
in the brochure being typical), there would have to be an effort to
determine which is the best buy.
My second thought is that there is no reason to pay at all. If there is
any interest within the Business School in actually building an expert
system of business interest, the various system building companies
should be competing to get Stanford Business School students and faculty
in the habit of using their product. The cheapest way out for you is
to make the counterproposal that they let your students and faculty
use it free for non-commercial purposes.
∂06-Sep-84 1634 JMC TIMM
To: sandy@SU-GSB-WHY.ARPA
Now I have actually looked at the brochure, and TIMM strikes me
as the most feeble-minded of all the systems I have heard of.
None are morons yet, but some are cretins. This one seems to
be an idiot.
∂06-Sep-84 1648 JMC
To: ullman@SU-AIMVAX.ARPA
\input macros[pap,rpg]
\magnification\magstep1
\paper:Outline proposal for Stanford Hep and parallel Lisp.
It is generally agreed that the main hope for large increases
in computer speed, whether for numerical work or artificial
intelligence, lies in massive parallelism. Projects are being undertaken
that will involve hundreds or even thousands of processors.
However, no-one has yet demonstrated the ability to make general purpose
use of even two processors on symbolic computation for a single problem.
We, Richard Gabriel and John McCarthy, have a variant of Lisp
called Qlambda, described in our paper (Gabriel and McCarthy 1984),
which we believe will allow Lisp to effectively use many processors.
It is based on the following ideas:
\numitem{1.}The programmer can tell when a computation will allow
parallelism and can indicate this by using appropriate constructs
in the source language. In our case these are called QLET and QLAMBDA.
\numitem{2.}When tasks that may be done in parallel are found they are
placed on a queue. Free processors take tasks from the queue.
The source and compiled programs do not require any specific number
of processes.
\numitem{3.}It is important to control the amount of multi-processing
and limit it to not much more than the number of processors available.
This is because handling the multi-processing involves computational
overhead, and if allowed to occur at a low level, this overhead could
swamp the useful computation. The control is accomplished in Qlambda
by runtime parameters to QLET and QLAMBDA that determine whether
parallelism is actually to be allowed.
We believe this simple scheme will work for effective Lisp
multi-processing in AI and symbolic mathematics applications. Our
paper includes simulations that indicate that this is true.
We propose to acquire a Hep, develop Qlambda, and test it
on applications that will provide a good test of how much
speed gain can be obtained from multi-processing using the features
of Hep which include a certain amount of data-flow architecture.
The results should help DARPA guide its more ambitious multi-processing
efforts by determining what additional architectural features are important
for multi-processing in Lisp.
Besides implementing Qlambda, we propose to implement Macsyma
and some large Macsyma applications. Implementing Macsyma and Macsyma
applications has the advantage of providing a very large and varied collection
of Lisp functions each of which is computationally expensive.
Making them run in parallel is a well-defined task that will nevertheless
fully test Qlambda and the Hep.
Besides this, HPP has proposed some major AI applications that they will
program in Qlambda and test on simulators; if Qlambda were to exist on
the Hep, they would mount the applications on it.
Acquiring and operating a Hep will be expensive in terms of
acquisition cost, space (Welch Road where HPP is located), and personnel.
Substantial personnel will be required for the Macsyma and symbolic
computation projects. Nevertheless, we believe that this project
provides and opportunity to get a preview of how to solve the problems
that will be faced by the much more expensive parallel processor
projects now being undertaken.
If there is sufficient interest a detailed proposal with costs
will be prepared.
\bye
∂06-Sep-84 1720 JMC HEP
To: kahn@USC-ISI.ARPA
CC: RPG@SU-AI.ARPA, ullman@SU-AIMVAX.ARPA
Jeff Ullman tells me that I was mistaken, and the amount in our
final year budgeted for a time-shared machine is $450K and not
$325K. He is still interested in being part of the coalition,
so is Gene Golub (the numerical analyst), and Dick Gabriel would
be interested in doing Qlambda for it on a contract basis. I had
forgotten to mention that I had talked with Ed Feigenbaum about it
and he was interested. Therefore, I will explore, with Dick's
and Len Bosack's help, what kind of organization will be required
and what it will cost. I have still to talk with Joe Oliger (also
numerical) and John Hennessey. I'm hoping that the Stanford people
can get together next week. We'll also contact Denelcor.
∂06-Sep-84 1741 JMC
To: golub@SU-SCORE.ARPA
I can't reach Carolyn, so I'd better say no.
∂06-Sep-84 1834 JMC list to receive common sense paper
To: RA
Make such list common.rep[e84,jmc] and put the names
Ronald Bracewell and Robert Eustis on it. Both are Stanford faculty.
∂06-Sep-84 1839 JMC message
To: SMC
Victoria called. 756-4394.
∂06-Sep-84 1937 JMC
To: SMC
Susie called.
∂07-Sep-84 1010 JMC
To: RA
thanks
∂08-Sep-84 1953 JMC
To: DEK
Would you be interested in joining me in a letter to Science
elaborating the following complaint about an editorial in
the September 7 issue? Coming from computer scientists, it
might be effective. I have put the editorial in your box.
mathed[e84,jmc] Statement on mathematics education
As computer scientists with a mathematics background, we are
doubtful about replacing $1+1=2$ by $1+1=0$ as suggested in
the 1984 September 7 editorial by Lynn Arthyr Steen.
Indeed boolean arithmetic is used in computer programming and in computer
hardware. However, we find the weaknesses of college students
in conventional mathematics, e.g. algebra and geometry more of
a handicap in studying computer programming and
computer science than an unfamiliarity
with boolean arithmetic. The fact is that these parts of mathematics
are rather easy and can be picked up when required. On the other
hand inability to do algebra is not easily remedied or its consequences
avoided.
More generally, the accomplishments of students in computer
science are more often limited by mathematical weakness than by
lack of study of computer science.
∂08-Sep-84 2121 JMC
To: john@SU-CSLI.ARPA
No objection, but what's F1?
∂09-Sep-84 1730 JMC
To: feigenbaum@SUMEX-AIM.ARPA
Ed, here's a draft. I suppose it's too frank in some matters.
What's your reaction? I think additional material
should be added, but I'm not sure what.
basic[e84,jmc] Basic research in AI committee
Artificial intelligence has attained great public recognition
recently, and many companies, new and old, are trying to apply
AI technology to a wide variety of problems. However, almost all
of this expanded effort is aimed at applying the technology as is,
and few if any companies are making basic scientific efforts in
support of the technology they are trying to use.
Of course, it is normal for companies and Government agencies
to put vastly more effort into technology than into basic research,
and it is unlikely that AI can fare much better than other sciences.
However, it is currently faring much worse, and we can hope to
correct this.
It is important for the companies to correct this problem,
because what AI technology can accomplish is seriously limited
by the fundamental state of AI science. Many desired applications
are simply infeasible today. Moreover, without activity in basic
AI science it is difficult for a company to decide what projects
current technology will support, what new tools are available or
will shortly become available, and where fundamental advances are
required.
One can say that AI technology is
treading close on the heels of AI science.
The basic AI research situation in industry has always been
weak, but just as the Defense Department has begun to work towards
relying on AI technology, Congress has just wiped out DARPA's
allocation for basic research in AI. As we understand it, the
rationale was that since AI has become a usable technology, it is
time for basic research in AI to be relegated to NSF. NSF never
has supported basic research in AI very heavily, and it is entirely
unlikely that NSF will come up with the $21 million that has been
cut from the DARPA budget.
In fact NSF's support of AI has also been heavily oriented
to specific applications parasitic on the state of research rather
than contributing to it. This is because NSF began support of AI
in the early 1970s when short term applications were emphasized
in every science in connection with the ill-conceived slogan of
``Research Applied to National Needs, RANN''.
In order to do something about this problem, the American
Association for Artificial Intelligence has formed a Committee
on Basic Research chaired by John McCarthy of Stanford University,
the immediate past President of the Asssociation.
The decision to form the committee was taken before the
dimensions of the DARPA catastrophe became apparent. At that
time the main problem was taken to be one of helping companies
active in applying AI technology to build programs in AI basic
research. These programs might include both in-house research
and support of basic research at universities, but we expected
the emphasis would be on the former. We propose to begin
by discussing the situation with executives of companies
that have efforts in AI technology.
Now something will also have to be done about the DARPA
situation. The present situation resembles what has happened
in the past but promises to be worse. In the early 1970s,
promising lines of AI research were diverted into short term
``practical projects'' promising results in two or three years.
The researchers often continued to bootleg some basic research,
and today the results of the bootlegging are much more widely
known in academia, industry and government than the applied
projects, which are mostly long forgotten. They have also
have made much more of a contribution to the AI applications
of today than the ``applied projects''.
People interested in the work of the Basic Research
Committee are invited to contact the chairman.
John McCarthy
Computer Science Department
Stanford, CA 94305
(415) 497-4430
Arpanet: JMC@SU-AI
∂10-Sep-84 1009 JMC
To: RA
∂10-Sep-84 0905 RA
The following is the list I have of your students, are there any additions or
changes?
Talcott, Carolyn 2FCZ451
Bellin, Granluigi 2FCZ762
Casley, Ross 2FCZ762
Mason, Ian 2FCZ762
Moses, Yoram
Weening, Joe
∂10-Sep-84 1353 JMC hep
To: kahn@USC-ISI.ARPA
CC: ullman@SU-AIMVAX.ARPA, RPG@SU-AI.ARPA,
feigenbaum@SUMEX-AIM.ARPA, rindfleisch@SUMEX-AIM.ARPA,
oliger@SU-NAVAJO.ARPA, golub@SU-SCORE.ARPA
McCarthy,Gabriel,Ullman,Rindfleisch (representing Feigenbaum),Oliger and
Golub met today to discuss a DARPA provided HEP for Stanford. The basis
for discussion was the memo Dick and I gave you in July. All expressed
interest and agreed to provide a page within the next week concerning
their own potential use that I will put together into a proto-proposal.
If you are still interested after seeing it, we will proceed to visit
Denelcor, understand the configuration they are proposing, and determine
the manpower requirements and prepare a budget. There was some opinion
that keeping the HEP available for multi-processing experiments would not
be compatible with relying on it to meet the Department's and the DARPA
projects' time-sharing needs. John Hennessy and Dave Cheriton couldn't
make the meeting, so Jeff and I will meet with them separately to
discuss the potential interest of the systems faculty.
∂10-Sep-84 1814 JMC
To: ashok@SU-SCORE.ARPA
One project I have in mind is to repeat a part of Barbara Huberman (Liskov)'s
thesis of the 1960s. It is definite, interesting, might lead to a thesis
project and shouldn't require looking at her code. It involves expressing
the knowledge about how to win certain chess endgames as an easily computable
function saying when one position is better than another. Asking for a
repeat of my work is part of my recent doctrine that work in AI, like
other scientific work, should be repeatable. Please come and see me
this week, because I'll be gone next week.
∂10-Sep-84 2033 JMC reservations
To: DEK
I'm in agreement with your reservations. Are you interested in
helping me get it right and then joining me in a letter?
∂11-Sep-84 0009 JMC hep
To: ullman@SU-AIMVAX.ARPA, cheriton@SU-PESCADERO.ARPA,
jlh@SU-SHASTA.ARPA
How about Wednesday lunch then?
∂11-Sep-84 1107 JMC
To: IAM
Let's get together at 3pm about ch. 3.
∂11-Sep-84 1115 JMC Encore vs. HEP
To: kahn@USC-ISI.ARPA
Gordon Bell called me at Feigenbaum's suggestion proposing the Encore
system in competition to HEP. From what he said, it sounds like
we should compare the two. Since a major part of the goal of the
project is to get early experience with multi-processing, the real
dates of availability are an important consideration. Gordon told
me he is visiting you next week.
∂12-Sep-84 1137 JMC
To: RA
Please mail my Dyson review which is in my OUT box. The envelope is somewhere.
∂12-Sep-84 1323 JMC to Gordon Bell
To: RA
Two files hep.dvi and newmac.dvi have been accepted by the Dover. Please
pick them up and mail them, together with a copy of Dick's and my
qlambda paper to Gordon Bell.
Priority mail.
∂12-Sep-84 1353 JMC teaching
To: goguen@SRI-AI.ARPA
As to the Industry Lectureship program, it's too late. I consider it
important to have the actual course descriptions of the Industry
Lectureship courses in the Stanford catalog. Therefore, a January
deadline is necessary. As to CSLI, I don't want to be in that loop, so
please speak directly to them.
∂12-Sep-84 1505 JMC
To: ashok@SU-SCORE.ARPA
How about 4pm?
∂12-Sep-84 2004 JMC
To: kahn@USC-ISI.ARPA
Jeff and I met with John Hennessy and Dave Cheriton and both are interested
in the project and in helping evaluate the Denelcor and Encore alternatives.
Some of us will probably visit Denelcor the week of October 8. My and Smith's
trips preclude an earlier visit. Assuming we made up our minds promptly
and produced a proposal, how long would DARPA action take? Incidentally,
I see the project as having substantial personnel costs, and I would have
to hire someone to take Dick Gabriel's place as manager of the project.
∂12-Sep-84 2119 JMC
To: JK
I presume that this is impractical in the short time before you
go into business. Perhaps it is even uninteresting to you. What do
you think about the possibility or desirability that Gianluigi be
persuaded to do it, with some voluntary supervision from you?
Chen turns out to be the supervisor of the grant, but I haven't
talked to him yet about whether allowing the grant to be partially
suspended for a year is something he can and would do.
∂13-Sep-84 0900 JMC Re: my next trip to Paris
To: CLT
∂13-Sep-84 0657 SIMONDS@CMU-CS-C.ARPA Re: my next trip to Paris
Received: from CMU-CS-C.ARPA by SU-AI.ARPA with TCP; 13 Sep 84 06:57:29 PDT
Received: ID <SIMONDS@CMU-CS-C.ARPA>; Thu 13 Sep 84 09:57:51-EDT
Date: Thu 13 Sep 84 09:57:50-EDT
From: Todd.Simonds@CMU-CS-C.ARPA
Subject: Re: my next trip to Paris
To: JMC@SU-AI.ARPA
In-Reply-To: Message from "John McCarthy <JMC@SU-AI.ARPA>" of Mon 3 Sep 84 22:06:00-EDT
John,
Yes, we have made reservations at the Bristol for you and Caroline for
the 18th thru 22nd inclusive. Bon voyae.
-- Todd
-------
∂13-Sep-84 0903 JMC
To: RA
I have made the reservations at Dina Bolla, and they are supposed
to deliver the tickets today. You might check.
∂13-Sep-84 1340 JMC
To: rindfleisch@SUMEX-AIM.ARPA
CC: feigenbaum@SUMEX-AIM.ARPA
Thanks for the HPP input to HEP proposal.
∂13-Sep-84 1656 JMC
To: bscott@SU-SCORE.ARPA
No, I have visitors and graduate students with whom I have more definite
plans to interact.
∂13-Sep-84 1823 JMC sjoddin
To: bscott@SU-SCORE.ARPA
I agreed to talk with him occasionally and have done so.
Space was never discussed, and I never thought about it.
∂13-Sep-84 2257 JMC change of name
To: chertok@UCBKIM.ARPA
Please change my name on your distribution list for the Cognitive
Science Seminar from JMC@SU-AI to JMC-LISTS@SU-AI. I prefer to
have seminar announcements go to this other address.
∂14-Sep-84 0053 JMC
To: CLT
See swann.ns[e84,jmc]
∂14-Sep-84 0918 JMC cbcl
To: gardner@SUMEX-AIM.ARPA
Can you come in this afternoon? I'll be away next week. 3pm would be
good, but any time is ok.
∂14-Sep-84 1002 JMC
To: JK
I'll be in by 11.
∂14-Sep-84 1536 JMC SRI
To: gardner@SUMEX-AIM.ARPA
Both Stan and Nils are out of town till the 24th. I'll think about
some other possibilities in the meantime.
∂14-Sep-84 1601 JMC
To: ullman@SU-AIMVAX.ARPA
Encore Gordon Bell, 617 237-1022
1 hit on key "encore".
Exit
↑C
.
∂14-Sep-84 1615 JMC CBCL lives?
To: nilsson@SRI-AI.ARPA, rosenschein@SRI-AI.ARPA
Some time ago, you said you might be interested in a CBCL project at
SRI if a suitable person appeared. Anne Gardner asked me if she could
work on it, and I think she'd be suitable. Are you interested?
∂14-Sep-84 2158 JMC broken chair
To: RA
Please try to have my swivel chair fixed. One of the legs has one of the
wheels missing and the other loose.
∂14-Sep-84 2220 JMC fellowship opportunity
To: gardner@SUMEX-AIM.ARPA
I'll be away next week, but it just occurred to me that one of the fellowships
offered by (I think) Bell Labs may be appropriate for you. They are one
year post-doctorals involving new research initiatives (I think). Jeff
Ullman knows about them, so I suggest you ask him. Tell him I'd sponsor
it, and if you want to proceed promptly you might start to prepare a
proposal based on my CBCL paper. I hope I'll have time to ask him about
it on Monday or even over the weekend, and if I hear that it's a false
alarm, I'll inform you.
∂15-Sep-84 1556 JMC apology
To: churd@SU-SCORE.ARPA
Sorry I forgot to call back yesterday. I'm around this weekend, but
we'll be in France for a week starting Monday until the following
Sunday.
∂15-Sep-84 1611 JMC re: MACSYMA Notice (from SAIL's BBOARD)
To: OTHER-SU-BBOARDS@SU-AI.ARPA
jmc - I understand this differently from jbn. As I understand it,
there has been a demand for a public domain Macsyma - in honor of
your tax dollars, and perhaps the DOE Macsyma is it. There is also
a demand for a commercially maintained and upgraded version. It
would be nice if someone would explain the history of the availability
of Macsyma and the present state.
∂15-Sep-84 1650 JMC
To: aho@SU-SCORE.ARPA
CC: ullman@SU-AIMVAX.ARPA, gardner@SUMEX-AIM.ARPA
cbcl.pro[e84,jmc] Proposal for starting work on CBCL
Some years ago I wrote a paper about what I called a
``Common Business Communication Language''. It would be a language
in which a computer belonging to one organization would communicate
to a computer belonging to another about business matters. For
example, it should be able to say
``Can you ship 10000 No. 3 pencils to us by November 7? What is
your price? If it's less than $200, we hereby order them.''
At first I thought this would be just a grubby standardization
project, but actually it turned out to require formalizing an interesting
fragment of the semantics of natural language. The details ---
such as are known --- are in the paper, which I will send you.
A SCRIBE source is on-line at SU-AI as CBCL[F75,JMC] and can be
FTPed without password.
The idea has received a favorable reception, but like several of
my ideas, it is a bit off the beaten track, because of its emphasis
on semantics to the total irrelevance of natural language syntax.
Anyway I didn't find anyone interested in working on it until just
now.
Anne Gardner just received a PhD from the Stanford Computer
Science Department with a nice thesis on the computer understanding
of legal issues. (She already had a law degree). She
approached me about working on CBCL, and I think she is eminently
qualified. Therefore, I would like to start a small project with
her as a Research Associate. Your maximum grant, which I understand
from Jeff Ullman is $40K, would pay her a salary (not yet determined)
for the better part of a year and a bit of computer time. In the
meantime I could seek other funding.
The work would consist mainly of formalizing a fragment of
CBCL sufficient for communication about some selected area in which
computers might communicate commercially. A possible example is that
a parts-explosion program might communicate with computers belonging
to suppliers in order to determine what price and delivery could
be quoted on a product using these parts. Our project would work
on the protocols rather than do a program.
I understand that letter proposals should be in next week.
However, I will be in France, so she, GARDNER@SUMEX, would have
to answer questions. I will be back on the 24th.
Is this appropriate for one of the Bell Labs grants?
∂15-Sep-84 1651 JMC mail a paper
To: RA
Please make a copy of my paper entitled "A Common Business Communication
Language" and mail it (express) to Dr. Albert Aho at Bell Laboratories,
the precise address being obtainable from Jeff Ullman. This should go
promptly, because it is in support of a proposal we want to make to them.
∂15-Sep-84 2051 JMC
To: churd@SU-SCORE.ARPA
Lowell Wood 415 422-7286.
∂16-Sep-84 1904 JMC your thesis
To: liskov@MIT-XX.ARPA
The Garland publishing company has a series entitled "Outstanding theses
in computer science". I have been rereading yours after all these years,
and if you agree I will recommend it to them. They have published the
one's I recommended, and unless I'm mistaken, yours hasn't been published.
It's the only one of my students' theses from the 1960s that still seems
not to be obsolete.
∂16-Sep-84 1925 JMC
To: bobrow@XEROX.ARPA
questi[e84,jmc] AI questionnaire from Bobrow and Hayes
I suppose I'd like one more crack at these answers before
you actually publish anything. Perhaps you should think again
about whether a 25th anniversary celebration is the best use
of the pages.
1. The main scientific advance that I can identify is the
formalization of non-monotonic reasoning. Naturally this
may be a prejudiced view. Perhaps the progress in learning
amounts to a major advance. I agree with Simon that more
progress would have been made if more people took its advantages
as a scientific problem seriously. The current chess programmers
seem to treat it more as a sport and don't really study the
conceptual weaknesses of their work.
2. Circumscription is my own best work. All the major problems
of AI seem untractable.
3. I see no limits, but I can't predict where there will be the
most progress, because I see the requirements as conceptual.
4. Both. Many will be disappointed, but there may be some solid
applications of AI that will revolutionize some fields.
5. I think there will be a unified AI methodology, but we don't
have it yet. Of course, the conceptual split into basic research
and applications is relevant to AI as well as to other fields.
Failure to make this split clearer has led to weakness in basic
research. For this research sponsors bear some of the responsibility.
See my AI Magazine President's message on the subject.
6. I don't see any problems that will become easy just because of
more processing power. Given the current ideas, we have just
recently (at Stanford anyway), got computing resources adequate
for the current projects.
7. I don't think the serial/parallel distinction will be of much
importance in the theory of AI.
8. It is best to postpone consideration of such issues until they
actually arise. Current social thought is much to inclined
to shy at paper bags for there to be any likelihood that any good
will come of rounding up the usual interdisciplinary suspects
once again.
9. AI will absolutely revolutionize human society sometime in
the next 5 to 500 years. However, only actual developments will
attract attention of the right sort. Imagine asking the Reagan
and Mondale campaigns for policy statements on AI. What garbage
would be produced by the third assistant speech writer!
10. I don't know any questions that shouldn't be asked. The right
questions are about what are the basic intellectual mechanisms.
∂17-Sep-84 0017 JMC
To: FY
What kind of solitaire is solitr?
∂17-Sep-84 0928 JMC common lisp on LOTS
To: RTC
Please get Common Lisp working on LOTS. The following message from
Hedrick constitutes our permission to use it if anyone fusses. You
should send a message to Hedrick asking about whether there is a later
version than the one working on SCORE. Also ask Dick Gabriel for
any advice he may have. MRC put it up on SCORE, but I don't know
whether he had any problems and to what extent he is available
to answer questions. Almost all of his time is now spent in San
Francisco working for Systems Concepts.
∂13-Jul-84 1424 HEDRICK@RUTGERS.ARPA Re: Your Common Lisp
Received: from RUTGERS.ARPA by SU-AI.ARPA with TCP; 13 Jul 84 14:23:59 PDT
Date: 13 Jul 84 17:19:08 EDT
From: Charles Hedrick <HEDRICK@RUTGERS.ARPA>
Subject: Re: Your Common Lisp
To: JMC@SU-AI.ARPA
In-Reply-To: Message from "John McCarthy <JMC@SU-AI.ARPA>" of 13 Jul 84 15:18:00 EDT
There is no question that it will use more CPU time than it would
if there were a compiler. We have used ELISP in courses, with no
problem. The underlying system is the same. Howver ELISP has a
compiler, and the system code is compiled. Our actual target for
production use is January. I will be happy to fix bugs. If something
is critical, I should be able to get to it quickly. However there
is no question that it will be a bit slow. You should look at the
user interface and see whether it has enough of what you expect in
a Lisp to satisfy your students. I will probably do a few tweaks
before September, but you shouldn't expect much improvement. If there
is something particular that you need by then, please tell me and I
will try to do it. The only thing I can't do is guarantee a compiler
or compiled code by September.
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∂17-Sep-84 0932 JMC siglunch announcements
To: edmisten@SUMEX-AIM.ARPA
Please change your mailing list so that siglunch announcements go
to JMC-LISTS@SU-AI instead of JMC@SU-AI. I prefer to receive
announcements at this other address.
∂17-Sep-84 0957 JMC Appointment papers
To: morgan@SU-CSLI.ARPA
Since you can't have meant me by this, perhaps the intended
recipients haven't got it.
∂17-Sep-84 0939 MORGAN@SU-CSLI.ARPA Appointment papers
Received: from SU-CSLI.ARPA by SU-AI.ARPA with TCP; 17 Sep 84 09:39:33 PDT
Date: Mon 17 Sep 84 09:37:18-PDT
From: Nannette Morgan <MORGAN@SU-CSLI.ARPA>
Subject: Appointment papers
To: research@SU-CSLI.ARPA
I'm doing appointment papers for you re: your upcoming seminar here and
need some info. not supplied by your cv: date of birth, place of birth,
nationality(ie citizenship). Please reply asap. Thanks.
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∂17-Sep-84 1053 JMC
To: restivo@SU-SCORE.ARPA
I won't be back from France till next Monday.
∂17-Sep-84 1106 JMC
To: JK
Chien said ok.