Wednesday, October 03, 2007

What makes a cat a cat?

When defining a new concept, we need to identify the boundary, i.e. the characteristics (or a specific grouping of characteristics) that make the thing unique.

What makes a cat a cat? Because it is living, which is different from rocks. Because it moves, which is different from plants. Because it catches and feeds on rats, which is different from dogs.

What makes a program different from a program fragment? Because it can compile and run whereas the fragment cannot.

If we find it so hard to identify the boundary of the new concept, chances are that we are trying to invent a new name for a century ancient thing.

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