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Subject:Re: State of the art From:Al Rubottom <aer -at- PCSI -dot- CIRRUS -dot- COM> Date:Thu, 30 Nov 1995 15:13:00 PST
You wrote:
The term "state of the art" has been used for some time to refer to
the highest level of development.
Actually, strictly speaking that is *not* quite true.
State of the art means the 'state' of the current, well-known
and established art, technique or technology now in use.
[dictionary def. reads "level of development ...
reached at any given time."]
Therefore, the state of the art is not the leading edge,
rather it is likelier the trailing edge or the least buggy,
prob'ly most conservative implementation -- all this
is what engineers told me when I first started interviewing
'em to get the facts about whatever it was I was s'posed
to be documenting...
I know, I know ... it gets used all the time by advtg/PR and
all other hypemasters to imply something *is* the bleeding edge,
the newest, most bitchen, hottest, grooviest -- but, if
engineers can be believed [a separate discussion], it don't
really mean that at all.
Al Rubottom /\ tel: 619.535.9505, x1737
aer -at- pcsi -dot- cirrus -dot- com /\ fax: 619.541.2260
