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Exercises as Companion to AHL #2:  PATTERNS IN AMBIGUITY

Exercise:  There are lots of these kinds of ambiguities; as an exercise, write
down one of each kind next to the specification:

     Hypnotist   Intentional     Generalization ______________________________
     Hypnotist   Intentional     Deletion       ______________________________
     Hypnotist   Intentional     Distortion     ______________________________
     Hypnotist   Unintentional   Generalization ______________________________
     Hypnotist   Unintentional   Deletion       ______________________________
     Hypnotist   Unintentional   Distortion     ______________________________
     Subject     Intentional     Generalization ______________________________
     Subject     Intentional     Deletion       ______________________________
     Subject     Intentional     Distortion     ______________________________
     Subject     Unintentional   Generalization ______________________________
     Subject     Unintentional   Deletion       ______________________________
     Subject     Unintentional   Distortion     ______________________________

Exercise:  Take the opening page of a novel, magazine article or a lengthy
memorandum, and identify the various ambiguities in the first few paragraphs.
For example, the following excerpt is taken from the uncopyrighted work,
"Guidelines for Designing User Interface Software," (MITRE Corp. ESD-TR-86-
278, Aug '86, S. L. Smith & J. N. Mosier) without, and then with, annotation:

	Original:
	"This report offers guidelines for design of user interface software
	in six functional areas:  data entry, data display, sequence control,
	user guidance, data transmission, and data protection.  This report
	revises and extends previous compilations of design guidelines (cf.
	Smith and Mosier, 1984a)."

	Annotated:
	"This report offers     [to whom?]
	guidelines     [what, specifically, is meant by 'guidelines?']
		for design of user interface software     [much deleted
		information:  is this the same as software with a user
		interface, or only for software with the exclusive purpose
		of user interface?  Which users?  What, specifically, is
		meant by 'interface?']
	in six     [why six?  why not five, or seven or some other number?]
	functional areas:  data entry, data display, sequence control, user
	guidance, data transmission, and data protection     [what do each of
		these mean?  Would all observers concur on definitions of
		each of these six areas?].
	This report revises and extends     [in what way?]
	previous compilations of design guidelines (cf. Smith and Mosier,
	1984a)     ['cf.'; are there others?  If compiled by the named
		authors, where did those design guidelines come from?]."

Clearly, even this small example could be picked apart in even further detail.
Depending on context, some of these questions might be irrelevant.  Any
written work can be analyzed in this way; to the extent the writer has
answered the relevant questions later in the document, it is complete (in this
particular example, the entire document is *quite* complete).

This material is Copyright, 1992, 1993 by Carol Anne Ogdin, Santa Clara, CA
95051; all rights reserved.  Distributed through alt.hypnosis newsgroup of
Usenet (Internet), and paper copies may be made for personal use.  Any 
distribution of this material must include this copyright and contact notice.
The author may be reached as     friday@well.sf.ca.us    
-- 
--Friday                                    "Knowledge is guesswork
   Carol Anne Ogdin, Principal Designer         disciplined by 
   Deep Woods Technology                        rational criticism." 
     friday@well.sf.ca.us                               --Karl Popper