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From: fs@rex.cs.tulane.edu (Frank Silbermann)
Newsgroups: comp.theory
Subject: Re: Academic legend (was Re: Answers...)
Message-ID: <2072@rex.cs.tulane.edu>
Date: 2 Feb 90 16:41:13 GMT
References: <20433@watdragon.waterloo.edu>
Reply-To: fs@rex.UUCP (Frank Silbermann)
Organization: C.S. Dept, Tulane Univ., New Orleans, LA
Lines: 23


In article <20433@watdragon.waterloo.edu>
alopez-ortiz@violet.waterloo.edu (Alex Lopez-Ortiz) writes:
>
>	...the lecturer was talking about some measurable spaces,
>	and proving this and that, ...  later on that day it turned out
>	that no such measurable space exists.  Moral:
>
>		Never attempt an induction
>		without working out the first 4 values.

Better Moral:

A notation is but a language, and a proof theory
merely a way of verifying one's hypotheses.
The models are what make a theory interesting.

Therefore, never get so caught up in a theory
that you forget about the concrete problems
which motivated the theory in the first place.

	Frank Silbermann	fs@rex.cs.tulane.edu
	(just trying to inject a little controversy)