Xref: utzoo comp.ai:2666 talk.philosophy.misc:1592
Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!clyde!att!rutgers!ucsd!nosc!humu!uhccux!lee
From: lee@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu (Greg Lee)
Newsgroups: comp.ai,talk.philosophy.misc
Subject: Re: Artificial Intelligence and Intelligence
Message-ID: <2671@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu>
Date: 20 Nov 88 14:45:03 GMT
References: <1919@garth.UUCP>
Organization: University of Hawaii
Lines: 15

From article <1919@garth.UUCP>, by smryan@garth.UUCP (Steven Ryan):
" >Professor Garrett Birkhoff, a prominent mathematician not unfamiliar with the
" >use of arbitrary in mathematics, often remarks in his undergraduate ODE class
" >that when mathematicians begin to speak about arbitrary, they don't know 
" >what they are talking about.
" 
" Just a short note that is a mortal sin for a mathematician to say
" `arb***ry.' Penance usually is usually five Hail Davids.
" 
" The word `infinite' only occurs before `set,' `infinite set,' where it has
" a very precise meaning.
" 
" The correct term is `arbitrary.'

Now it makes even more sense.