Art of the Edge?

[Scott Goodhue <goodhue -at- SMTPGATE -dot- DISCLOSURE -dot- COM>]

     This message concerns my original posting, and the subsequent
     responses.

     >>
     Call for Neologism:

     The term "state of the art" has been used for some time to refer to
     the highest level of development.  In your opinion, is it hackneyed? I
     posed the question once to an STC PIC a while ago and one member
     suggested: "Bleeding edge."  This may be too bloody for many.  I
     considered " the fore-running cusp" for a softer sound, but neither
     terms seem adequate to me.  They just don't have the ring of an
     engineering feat.  I've also run across "state of the edge," but it's
     a mere substitution of one word for another.  Any suggestions
     welcomed.

     Scott Goodhue
     sgoodhue -at- disclosure -dot- com <<

     The responders favored the following substitutes for "state of the
     art":
     1.  "Leading-edge" (greatest number of nominations)
     2.  "Cutting-edge" (second greatest number of nominations)
     3.  "State of the art" should be left "as is" (a trailing third)

     Marvin W. Miller <Marvin_Miller -at- sec -dot- sel -dot- sony -dot- com> of the
     state-of-the-art-is-hackneyed group asked, "Does that mean any movie
     made using the PIXAR system is state of the art art?"

     Al Ruttbottom <aer -at- pcsi -dot- cirrus -dot- com> noted that engineers he worked
     with defined state of the art as "the current, well-known and
     established art, technique or technology...not the leading edge,
     rather it is likelier the trailing edge or the least buggy, prob'ly
     most conservative implementation..."

     In considering this, I ran across the dilemma:
     If a leading-edge product proves to be too buggy, and is revised but
     is more advanced than the state of the art upon re-release, would it
     be called "on the re-sharpened edge?"

     At any rate, the terms have to be used with the knowledge that they're
     predisposed to being temporary, victims of inexorable progress.  But
     hey, to most readers, it's a given that they'll have to upgrade
     anyway, that the term applies to concurrent circulation.

     Scott Goodhue
     sgoodhue -at- disclosure -dot- com