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From: moriarty@uw-june (Jeff Meyer)
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: Re: PUNCTUATION (especially the use of parenthesis !)
Message-ID: <898@uw-june>
Date: Thu, 26-Jan-84 02:59:03 EST
Article-I.D.: uw-june.898
Posted: Thu Jan 26 02:59:03 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 21-Jan-84 23:17:13 EST
References: <321@iheds.UUCP>
Organization: U. Washington, Computer Sci
Lines: 28

Oh dear, I was afraid this was going to happen some day.  John, the sad
truth is that most people (92.4%, by the latest ABC poll) have what one in
software design might call a "memory pointer stack".  This allows them, upon
encountering a parenthisis in a sentance, to jump to another plane of
thought, while storing the previous plane in the "stack" (I believe Peter
Jennings described it as a 'PUSH' operation).  Then when the corresponding
parenthisis is found, the memory pointer is returned ("POP"ped).  While
their are a variety of implementations for this biological function
(see Knuth Vol. I, "Getting Your Head Together and Putting it On the
Stack"), most people have it in some degree (I myself can encounter 16
nested parenthisis before a STACK OVERFLOW error).  Most people.

Except you, John
 
But there is hope for John and People Like Him.  Thanks to the work of the
United Way, research is going on (even as we speak) for people with little
or no memory stack depth, to find the cause of this tragic affliction.
Texas Instruments has developed a device which allows stack-less people to
deal with at almost four levels of parenthisis, and Hewlett-Packard is
expected to come out soon with a device in Reverse-Polish notation.  So
until then, just hold on.... your tax dollars are at work!

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