Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!ncrlnk!ncrcae!hubcap!gatech!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!klaatu.rutgers.edu!josh
From: josh@klaatu.rutgers.edu (J Storrs Hall)
Newsgroups: comp.ai
Subject: Re: Errors and intelligence.
Keywords: Errors, mistakes, intelligence.
Message-ID: <Nov.23.17.34.50.1988.7749@klaatu.rutgers.edu>
Date: 23 Nov 88 22:34:56 GMT
References: <448@uceng.UC.EDU> <5891@ecsvax.uncecs.edu>
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.
Lines: 16

>    Intelligence is the capability of making mistakes.
>--Todd M. Lewis

I think this is derivative rather than definitive.  We would call
a person who killed ten people a murderer, but we wouldn't call a
tornado which did so, a murderer.  A mistake is defined as (webster)
"A wrong action or statement proceeding from faulty judgement,
inadequate knowledge, or inattention."  Thus to be able to make
a mistake implies judgement, knowlege, or attention.  What are those?
To define "mistake" completely, you have to work out basically the
same set of concepts as for "intelligence".  How about:

  Intelligence is the capacity to do actions, make statements,
  exercise judgement, believe knowledge, and pay attention.

--JoSH