From newshub.ccs.yorku.ca!ists!helios.physics.utoronto.ca!news-server.ecf!utgpu!watserv1!watdragon!logos.waterloo.edu!wlfong Thu Apr 30 15:22:15 EDT 1992
Article 5216 of comp.ai.philosophy:
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>From: wlfong@logos.waterloo.edu (Philip W. L. Fong)
Subject: An apology to Mr. Krishnaprased (was re: Godel's Incompleteness Thm)
Message-ID: <1992Apr23.164131.15250@watdragon.waterloo.edu>
Sender: news@watdragon.waterloo.edu (USENET News System)
Organization: University of Waterloo
Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1992 16:41:31 GMT
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              An Open Apology to Mr Thirunarayan Krishnaprasad
              ================================================

Dear Thirunarayan Krishnaprasad,

Recently I posted a request for reference to introductory text on Godel's
Incompleteness Theorm.  You are one of the people to whom I would like to
express my gratefulness for the helpful information you have provided.

Today, I read an article <1992Apr22.124607.11418@husc3.harvard.edu>
in COMP.AI.PHILOSOPHY written by Mr. Mikhail Zeleny, which quotes 
your reply, and, to my taste, contains some insulting remarks.  I included
that in the end of this posting for reference.

I am deeply resentful for the irresponsible remark posted by Mr. Mikhail
Zeleny in the newsgroup.  I would also like to apologize for creating
all these arguments by posting a summary of the replies I got.  As a new
reader of the newsgroup, I thought that the newsgroup was a place for 
serious academic discussion and disciplined scholarly exchange of 
information.  For this reason I posted the request.  For the same reason, 
and also thinking that participation in the newsgroup should be a 
give-and-take process, I posted the summay, hoping that someone would,
like myself, find the summary useful.  I did not realize that someone would
use this as an opportunity for insulting other people.  I would like to
apologize for causing the demage by posting your reply, which you forwarded
to me out of good will.

Best regards,

Philip Fong

=============================================================================
Philip Fong                                         wlfong@logos.waterloo.edu
University of Waterloo                                          (519)888-4674
Ontario, Canada                                                 (519)725-7795
=============================================================================

 : >Date: Fri, 17 Apr 1992 12:11:02 -0400
 : >From: tkprasad@valhalla.cs.wright.edu (Thirunarayan Krishnaprasad)
 :        __________________^^___________
 : >
 : >
 : >You can read "Godel Escher Bach" by Douglas Hofstader
 : >and "Godel's Proof" by Nagel and ...
 : >Both have extremely informal and palatable treatment of
 : >Incompleteness theorem. The former is a Pulitzer Prize Winner.
 : >The latter book was written in 1950's and is NYU Press I think.
 : >You can also look at "Metamagical Themas" by the first author
 : >for an article on self-reference.
 : >
 : >Avoid looking at First-order logic text books. Even though I work in
 : >logic, I understood more from the informal descriptions than the gory
 : >proof in Enderton!
 : >
 : >Good Luck.
 : >Prasad
 : >
 :
 : You might want to consider a career change.  Although not a single one
 : among my students in the Harvard Extension introductory logic class
 : professes to "work in logic", none among them have failed to understand
 : "the gory proof in Enderton".
 :
 : On second thought, the department name in your address explains everything.
 :
 : >[...]
 :
 : I am crossposting this to sci.logic, so Herb Enderton can enjoy it, too.
 :


