Path: utzoo!utgpu!attcan!uunet!ateng!chip
From: chip@ateng.uucp (Chip Salzenberg)
Newsgroups: comp.std.internat
Subject: Re: Most important information first
Message-ID: <1988Sep2.185211.6687@ateng.uucp>
Date: 2 Sep 88 22:52:10 GMT
References: <2907@hubcap.UUCP>
Reply-To: chip@ateng.UUCP (Chip Salzenberg)
Organization: A T Engineering, Tampa, FL
Lines: 18

According to wtwolfe@hubcap.UUCP (Bill Wolfe):
>I'd like to point out that telephone numbers are presented as
>   Country code - area code - local number
>or
>   (Area code) local number,
>
>and somehow, [...] people are able to rapidly scan forward
>to the local number, automatically focusing on the information
>which is locally important.

This is true.  However, the usual representations of phone numbers include
hypens and parentheses, which ease rapid and accurate parsing.  A simple
set of numbers with nothing but spaces to separate them is more difficult
to parse than one with punctuation.
-- 
Chip Salzenberg                <chip@ateng.uu.net> or <uunet!ateng!chip>
A T Engineering                My employer may or may not agree with me.
	  The urgent leaves no time for the important.