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I think that's what he's getting at using the word requirements in this quote - as in, you're not specifying the process, only the outcome. By definition it's n

I think that's what he's getting at using the word requirements in this quote - as in, you're not specifying the process, only the outcome. By definition it's not possible to over-specify the outcome, it just is what it is, and there is no theoretical reason that should limit the ability of the machine to optimise getting to that outcome. In a sense, that's one definition of language power - to what extent can you specify that what without having to specify the how, assuming that the machine can execute the how much more optimally than you can most or all of the time.

tsimionescu 7y ago
> By definition it's not possible to over-specify the outcome, it just is what it is, and there is no theoretical reason that should limit the ability of the machine to optimise getting to that outcome. I'm not sure what you mean by the outcome, but you can absolutely over-specify the output you want, and it's a relatively common problem. For example, you could say 'I want a system that prints lines with a saffron-based pigment', when all you wanted was an intense yellow-ish color, and don't care about the exact pigment being used. Or, you could say 'I want a program that let's a user choose red or blue or yellow and then paints a line in that color', when you actually mean the user can choose any color. I've seen many problems of over-specification when talking high-level details with less technical people. They tend to give details to help explain what they mean, without caring about the specific details; or they use metonimy expecting everyone understands what they mean.
- davnicwil 7y ago
  Ah yes you're right, I completely missed that and that's true. I was thinking about it more from the point of view of not mixing specifying output with implicit instructions on how to reach it (for example, don't say you want to order an array and then pick the last number, just say you want to pick the greatest number from the array) - but that's only assuming you actually are precise about what outcome you want and don't ask for anything irrelevant, which of course people obviously will do from time to time.

tsimionescu 7y ago

> By definition it's not possible to over-specify the outcome, it just is what it is, and there is no theoretical reason that should limit the ability of the machine to optimise getting to that outcome. I'm not sure what you mean by the outcome, but you can absolutely over-specify the output you want, and it's a relatively common problem. For example, you could say 'I want a system that prints lines with a saffron-based pigment', when all you wanted was an intense yellow-ish color, and don't care about the exact pigment being used. Or, you could say 'I want a program that let's a user choose red or blue or yellow and then paints a line in that color', when you actually mean the user can choose any color. I've seen many problems of over-specification when talking high-level details with less technical people. They tend to give details to help explain what they mean, without caring about the specific details; or they use metonimy expecting everyone understands what they mean.

davnicwil 7y ago
Ah yes you're right, I completely missed that and that's true. I was thinking about it more from the point of view of not mixing specifying output with implicit instructions on how to reach it (for example, don't say you want to order an array and then pick the last number, just say you want to pick the greatest number from the array) - but that's only assuming you actually are precise about what outcome you want and don't ask for anything irrelevant, which of course people obviously will do from time to time.