[Sigia-l] IA system components ? add to the list!
Listera
listera at rcn.com
Thu Mar 13 22:11:35 EST 2003
"Boniface Lau" wrote:
>> To cite one historical example: For a very long time the world was
>> (perfectly) defined by Ptolemic maps.
>
> Because the maps were well-defined, people could verify the
> correctness.
No, just the opposite!
The tension was between the theological constructs and dogmatic
oversimplifications of the Christian orthodoxy (which was essentially
useless to captains at sea) and the practical wisdom of the portalonos
accumulated by the actual experiences of seamen.
While the Ptolemic revival was a breath fresh air over longstanding
cartographic dogmas, his classic world map, nevertheless, indicated there
was no passage to India and China via sailing eastward around Africa (thus
making the Indian Ocean and China Sea into an enclosed lake).
It was when the courageous and non-provincial Portuguese sailed around
Africa to reach India and China that the Ptolemic maps were finally rendered
useless in fact. Despite that, as I indicated, Ptolemic maps remained the
staple of printed atlases all over for a long time.
> Thus, it is important to define what we are talking about.
I can give you countless examples to show that today's 'definition' (and
orthodoxy) is tomorrow's anachronism. Academic and dogmatic 'definitions'
from above eventually give way to facts from practice. The Church had a
perfect 'definition' of the world, constructed from what they knew and what
fit their dogmas. The truth turned out to be quite different, and continues
to evolve as we speak.
Ziya
Nullius in Verba
More information about the Sigia-l
mailing list