Date: Fri 29 Jan 1988 00:24-PST From: AIList Moderator Kenneth Laws Reply-To: AIList@KL.SRI.COM Us-Mail: SRI Int., 333 Ravenswood Ave., Menlo Park, CA 94025 Phone: (415) 859-6467 Subject: AIList V6 #20 - Nanoengineering, Philosophy, Deductive Databases To: AIList@KL.SRI.COM Status: RO AIList Digest Friday, 29 Jan 1988 Volume 6 : Issue 20 Today's Topics: Philosophy - Disregard And Abuse Of Nanoengineering & Importance of Philosophy, Announcement - Foundations of Deductive Databases and Logic Programming ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 25 Jan 88 12:14:31 MST From: t05rrs%mpx1@LANL.GOV (Dick Silbar) Subject: Re: intelligent nanocomupters David West replied to Godden's query about Drexler's work in a sardonic way, I think, by extrapolating the earlier remark to "...such a machine could then just be allowed to run and should be able to accomplish a century of progress in one hour." I am reminded of a novel some years back by Robert Forward, "Dragon's Egg", in which just that did happen in a civilization living on the surface of a neutron star. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Jan 88 9:35:58 PST From: jlevy.pa@Xerox.COM Subject: disregard and abuse of Nano-engineering (V6#17) David Smith writes: "Date: Fri, 22 Jan 88 14:21:05 est From: Mr. David Smith Subject: Nano-engineering ... [deleted quote] ... Some time ago, I asked a net question about nano-engineering and all roads led to Eric Drexler. Frankly, I was pleased to see this net mail putting such activities into perspective. At the risk of sounding Pharisaic, I believe that the cause of "serious AI" is seriously hindered by such blatant blather. This has to be the only forum in the civilized world which allows such claims to be perpetrated without receiving equal portions of ridicule and abuse. Can it not be stopped?" I think this reasoning is wrong, since it smacks of "acceptance by reputation". How about this argument: Some time ago I asked a lot of physicists about why an apple falls from a tree downwards, and all roads led to Isaac Newton. Frankly, I was pleased to see all those skeptics question Newton's results and put his activities into perspective. At the risk of sounding Pharisaic, I believe that the advance of serious research in physics is severely hindered by such blatant blather. This has to be the only forum in the world which allows such claims as Newton's to be perpetrated without receiving equal portions of ridicule and abuse. Can it not be stopped? The point is of course, that while Newton originated Newtonian physics, and thus it is right to expect all references to this field to lead back to him, at the time he did his research he was a nobody just like Eric Drexler. This was unimportant at that time, since his ideas were judged on MERIT, not on reputation. I am myself ill-equiped to judge Eric's work, but would be VERY careful in deciding that it "deserves ridicule and abuse" at all. Newton had a much harder time at propagating his ideas than Drexler today. In appreciation of this fact, scientists of olden times usually were more careful and methodical in judging new ideas (not always, to be sure!). Maybe it is time to try and look at the facts and claims instead of at the names of proponents of such claims? To paraphrase, this must be the only forum in the world (claiming to be scientifically based) which allows such careless and unjustified disregard, abuse and ridicule of new ideas (whether they be of merit or not) without receiving equal portions of ridicule and abuse. So there! Jacob Levy jlevy.pa@xerox.com ------------------------------ Date: 25 Jan 88 14:27:27 GMT From: rochester!ur-tut!sunybcs!rapaport@bbn.com (William J. Rapaport) Subject: Re: Not Another vote (arg.gag.sigh) In article <20@chemstor.UUCP> bob@chemstor.UUCP (Bob Weigel) writes: > > Just another biannual reminder that philosophy is a futile game. Hardly. You might be interested in the following article: Rapaport, William J., "Unsolvable Problems and Philosophical Progress," American Philosophical Quarterly 19 (1982) 289-98. William J. Rapaport Assistant Professor Dept. of Computer Science||internet: rapaport@cs.buffalo.edu SUNY Buffalo ||bitnet: rapaport@sunybcs.bitnet Buffalo, NY 14260 ||uucp: {ames,boulder,decvax,rutgers}!sunybcs!rapaport (716) 636-3193, 3180 || ------------------------------ Date: 26 Jan 88 16:19:53 GMT From: sdcc6!calmasd!wlp@sdcsvax.ucsd.edu (Walter Peterson) Subject: Re: Philosophy is a futile game... > In article <20@chemstor.UUCP>, bob@chemstor.UUCP (Robert Weigel) writes: > > Just another biannual reminder that philosophy is a futile game. It > engages itself in a battle, yet leaves behind the tools needed to win it. > I ask again, who is more foolish? Him that claims to know truth, or he that > scoffs prejudiciously,....yet searches for it! > For an excellent explanation as to why philosophy is NOT futile and why everyone NEEDS philosophy, see "Philosophy: Who Needs It" By Ayn Rand -- Walt Peterson GE-Calma San Diego R&D "The opinions expressed here are my own and do not necessarily reflect those GE, GE-Calma nor anyone else. ...{ucbvax|decvax}!sdcsvax!calmasd!wlp wlp@calmasd.GE.COM ------------------------------ Date: 25 Jan 88 20:58:29 GMT From: Jack Minker Reply-to: minker@mimsy.UUCP (Jack Minker) Subject: Foundations of Deductive Databases and Logic Programming The book, FOUNDATIONS OF DEDUCTIVE DATABASES AND LOGIC PROGRAMMING Edited by Jack Minker (University of Maryland), will be available from Morgan-Kaufmann Publishers in early March, 1988. Orders for the book can be made now. The ISBN No. is: 0-934613-40-0. The book contains 752 pages and costs $36.95. This landmark volume explores the close relationship between deductive databases and logic programming and the foundational issues they share. A collection of original research, contributed by leading researchers, the book grew out of preliminary work presented at the Workshop on Founda- tions of Deductive Databases and Logic Programming held in Washington DC, August 1986. All the papers have been exten- sively refereed and revised. Part 1 introduces and examines the import of stratified databases, and its relationship to circumscription, and pro- vides a comprehensive survey of negation in deductive data- bases and logic programming. Part 2 addresses fundamental theoretical and practical issues in developing large-scale deductive databases and treats problems such as informative answers, semantic optimization, updates and computing answers in non-Horn theories. Part 3 provides results con- cerning unification, equivalence and optimization of logic programs and provides a comprehensive survey of results con- cerning logic programs and parallel complexity. An introduc- tory survey offering background material and an overview of research topics, name and subject indexes, and extensive bibliographic references complete the work. Invaluable to graduate students and researchers in deductive databases and logic programming, FOUNDATIONS OF DEDUCTIVE DATABASES AND LOGIC PROGRAMMING will also be of interest to those working in automated theorem proving, artificial intelligence and expert systems. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION Minker, J., 1-16 Introduction to Foundations of Deductive Databases and Logic Programming PART 1 - NEGATION AND STRATIFIED DATABASES 17 Chapter 1 Shepherdson, J., 19-88 Negation in Logic Programming Chapter 2 Apt, K.R., Blair, H. and Walker, A., 89-148 Towards a Theory of Declarative Knowledge Chapter 3 Van Gelder, A., 149-176 Negation as Failure Using Tight Derivation for General Logic Programs Chapter 4 Lifschitz, V., 177-192 On the Declarative Knowledge of Logic Programs with Negation Chapter 5 Przymusinski, T., 193-216 On the Semantics of Stratified Deductive Databases Chapter 6 Topor, R. and Sonenberg, E.A., 217-240 On Domain Independent Databases PART 2 - FUNDAMENTAL ISSUES IN DEDUCTIVE DATABASES AND IMPLEMENTATIONS 241 Chapter 7 Chakravarthy, U.S., Grant, J. and Minker, J., 243-273 Foundations of Semantic Query Optimization for Deductive Databases Chapter 8 Imielinski, T., 275-312 Intelligent Query Answering in Rule Based Systems Chapter 9 Sadri, F. and Kowalski, R.A., 313-362 An Application of General Purpose Theorem Proving to Data- base Integrity Chapter 10 Manchanda, S. and Warren, D.S., 363-394 A Logic-Based Language for Database Updates Chapter 11 Henschen, L.J. and Park, H., 395-438 Compiling the GCWA in Indefinite Deductive Databases Chapter 12 Bancilhon F. and Ramakrishnan, R., 439-517 Performance Evaluation of Data Intensive Logic Programs Chapter 13 Thom, J., Naish, L. and Ramamohanaro, K., 519- 543 A Superjoin Algorithm for Deductive Databases PART 3 - UNIFICATION AND LOGIC PROGRAMS, 545 Chapter 14 Kanellakis, P., 547-585 Logic Programming and Parallel Complexity Chapter 15 Lassez, J-L., Maher, M.J. and Marriott, K., 587-625 Unification Revisited Chapter 16 Maher, M.J., 627-658 Equivalences of Logic Programs Chapter 17 Sagiv, Y., 659-698 Optimizing Datalog Programs Chapter 18 van Emden, M.H. and Szeredi, P., 699-709 Converting AND-Control to OR-Control Using Program Transfor- mation AUTHOR ADDRESSES 711-714 REFEREES 715-716 AUTHOR INDEX 717-721 SUBJECT INDEX 723-746 -- JACK MINKER minker.umcp-cs@udel-relay ------------------------------ End of AIList Digest ********************