Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cornell!rochester!rutgers!elbereth.rutgers.edu!harnad From: harnad@elbereth.rutgers.edu (Stevan Harnad) Newsgroups: comp.ai Subject: Re: letter to THE NEW YORK REVIEW concerning AI Summary: On Word Games and Trench Logic Keywords: Searle, Chinese room, Minsky Message-ID: Date: 15 Feb 89 05:46:49 GMT References: <7471@venera.isi.edu> <7507@venera.isi.edu> Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J. Lines: 34 smoliar@vaxa.isi.edu (Stephen Smoliar) of USC-Information Sciences Institute writes: " Stevan Harnad apparently wishes to take issue with my having observed " that Searle is playing "fast and loose with words like " 'understanding.'" Unfortunately, I can only come away with the " impression that Stevan, himself, is not doing any better at it!... I do " not think it is an accident that there is no entry for "understanding" " in Minsky's glossary. Searle may think there are plain facts about " understanding. Harnad apparently would rather find HIS plain facts in " the area of MISunderstanding.... Minsky has shown more respect to the " concept than the combined forces of Searle and Harnad have yet managed " to muster with their philosophical word games! " " Apparently, what is obvious to both Searle and Harnad is still " questionable to some of us who spend more time in the trenches of our " code than in the speculation of others' achievements. Arguments are " resolved not by claims of the obvious but by recognition of when more " intense scrutiny is in order. Tell me, down there in the trenches, can you still tell the difference between this: (1) "Koran reggel ritkan rikkant a rigo" and this: (2) "How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood"? Call that difference "X." X is all that's at issue in the Chinese Room Argument. No word games. Sometimes it's good to come out of the trenches and breathe some fresh air. (By the way, you seem to have completely missed my point about misunderstanding...) -- Stevan Harnad INTERNET: harnad@confidence.princeton.edu harnad@princeton.edu srh@flash.bellcore.com harnad@elbereth.rutgers.edu harnad@princeton.uucp BITNET: harnad@pucc.bitnet CSNET: harnad%princeton.edu@relay.cs.net (609)-921-7771