Re: Anthropomorphism is bad because...

[Lauren <lauren -at- writeco -dot- net>]

On 6/18/2010 8:52 AM, McLauchlan, Kevin wrote:
> But what actually is wrong/bad/evil/hurtful/crushingly-destructive-of-communication
> to say that a complex computerized system "expects" a certain input or range of
> inputs in a given situation?   (... and gets miffed if you try to feed it
> anything else....... ok, that's a bit extreme).
>    

I think a system can "expect" data or other input.  What are the 
arguments against "expectation"?  The term itself implies that the 
system will "wait" for input that meets certain requirements, that it 
will "reject" a process when it receives non-conforming input, and that 
it will "process" input that it receives.  The term "expect" carries a 
lot of content within the scope of computer systems.  If the only reason 
to reject the term is that it sounds to human, then what it is it about 
"expectation" that is too human for computer systems?

Lauren




^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Gain access to everything you need to create and publish documentation, 
manuals, and other information through multiple channels. Choose 
authoring (and import) as well as virtually any output you may need. 
http://www.doctohelp.com/

---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- 

To unsubscribe send a blank email to 
techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
or visit http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/archive%40web.techwr-l.com


To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com

Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/ for more resources and info. 

Please move off-topic discussions to the Chat list, at:
http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/listinfo/techwr-l-chat