I guess I have to explain it differently. The heuristic is only a heuristic. The gold
standard of science is math.

I remember a famous line that went something like this:

Methinks the woman doth protest too much.

The method has already brought you computers, DNA analysis, flight, rockeships
to the moon, modern medicine.

What has heuristics brought? Not even a promissory note. Humans 500,000
used heuristics. Maybe even earlier.

Piotr Gasiorowski wrote:

----- Original Message -----
From: "H.M. Hubey" <hubeyh@...>
To: <Nostratica@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Saturday, February 01, 2003 6:30 PM
Subject: Re: [Nostratica] One, first, head, finger


> I am not sure what you mean. People were building bridges and houses before Isaac Newton. But phyics allowed also building of rockets and computers, but not in 1700s or 1800s. Kessler used probability theory in a nontrivial way for the first time. This can be done for every language
now instead of using heuristics.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Your last sentence is a promissory note which may or may not be redeemable. I'll wait till Kessler, or anyone using his alternative methodology, discovers something really new. To continue your metaphor, I'll believe that he can make rockets and computers when I see them.

Piotr



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-- 
M. Hubey
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The only difference between humans and machines is that humans
can be created by unskilled labor. Arthur C. Clarke

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