From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Msuck: nntp://news.gmane.io/gmane.science.mathematics.categories/4514 Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: wlawvere@buffalo.edu Newsgroups: gmane.science.mathematics.categories Subject: Re: abutment = aboutement? Date: Fri, 22 Aug 2008 09:30:05 -0400 Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: main.gmane.org Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-Trace: ger.gmane.org 1241019993 13654 80.91.229.2 (29 Apr 2009 15:46:33 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@ger.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Wed, 29 Apr 2009 15:46:33 +0000 (UTC) To: "Categories list" Original-X-From: rrosebru@mta.ca Sat Aug 23 09:38:14 2008 -0300 Return-path: Envelope-to: categories-list@mta.ca Delivery-date: Sat, 23 Aug 2008 09:38:14 -0300 Original-Received: from Majordom by mailserv.mta.ca with local (Exim 4.61) (envelope-from ) id 1KWsLt-0001Jw-RE for categories-list@mta.ca; Sat, 23 Aug 2008 09:36:21 -0300 Original-Sender: cat-dist@mta.ca Precedence: bulk X-Keywords: X-UID: 49 Original-Lines: 55 Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.science.mathematics.categories:4514 Archived-At: =20 There are common words, rarely used in a technical sense, that however may be useful as explanatory marginal alternatives of foreign words. The "ab...ment d.. " being discussed seems to be explained by "goal", as in f is the goal of F where F is the Fourer series of a function f (which leaves to particular investigation the question of actual convergence). In turn "goal" can be helpfully explained as=20 purpose a concept that academic discussions should not forget. Bill On Thu 08/21/08 3:18 PM , Vaughan Pratt pratt@cs.stanford.edu sent: > Meanwhile I count eight occurrences of "abut" and > "abutment" in the (36kilobyte!) main Wikipedia article on spectral sequen= ces (there are a > dozen separate much shorter articles on particular spectral sequences, > along with a 15 kB article on derived categories). >=20 > On the other hand the algebra and geometry articles of the 1987 > Britannica Macropaedia both prefer the term "limit" for what a > spectralsequence converges to, in respectively Peter Hilton's contributio= n > "Other aspects of homological algebra" to the algebra article, > and thegeometry article's section on algebraic topology. >=20 > Since Wikipedia seems to be trumping Britannica these days, and no one > here has objected to established usage in mathematics trumping > linguistic suitability, the precise distance of "abutment" from > theoptimal English cognate for "aboutissement" would appear to be > academic,an epithet reflecting the outside world's perception that raisin= g moot > points is in our job description. >=20 > Vaughan >=20 > >> Thanks to Eduardo D and Vaughan P and Michel > H for their misgivings,>> which encouraged me to compose the above, > despite the assurances>> of Jim S that the 'abut*' usage is by now > well entrenched.>> > >> Fred >=20 >=20 >=20 >=20 >=20 >=20