One of the earliest problems which I set out to examine in these pages was the philosophical problem of explaining the tenability and importance of the epistemoloigical distinction between analytic and synthetic judgements.

I havn't really got very far with that project, but one simple way to do it is to mention that logic depends upon the distinction and then argue that logic is important.

Such an argument can also be addressed at information engineers, who may be in this context a more important audience than philosophers.

I've thought about this for a while, and can think of more than one reason why logic is important. One reason has worked its way forward in my mind, from seeming just a wacky idea to being the most important story.

I'm going to say this real fast, because I don't have much time now. Hopefully I'll get back and fill it out later.

Logic is important because it delimits a class of problems which can reliably be solved by computers, and which therefore can be handed over to the global network for solution without human checking of the results or comprehension of the methods. It is a large class of problems, since it encompasses all mathematical problems, and also superficially non-logical problems in the fields of engineering and science, once necessary modelling assumptions are made explicit. It is a class which computer networks could be trusted to solve.

© created 96/2/25 modified 96/5/23