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Thank you so much for pointing these out. All things I am going to use to modify the .PDF-- I want it to be as optimal as it can.
by acoyfellow 14y ago
Thank you so much for pointing these out. All things I am going to use to modify the .PDF-- I want it to be as optimal as it can.
- robotresearcher 14y agoForgive my pedantry, but things are either optimal or they are not. There are not degrees of optimality, though things can be nearer or farther from optimal. Like uniqueness. I know some people hate this kind of comment, but since you are writing and we like to offer constructive advice around here, please take this as a friendly bug report.
- acoyfellow 14y agoI forgive your pedantry, and I consider what said to be very constructive, thank you. I respect your opinion; but I really disagree, I believe "optimal" is a word that is only defined by relativity. One person can be more optimal at doing a job than another, one tool can optimize your website better than another. You can be really far from optimal, or really close.. Or somewhere in between? "There are not degrees of optimality, though things can be nearer or farther from optimal. "-- Well they can be degrees of near or far.. To me that is "degrees of optimality". I'd love to continue talking with you about this outside of HN, if you want to. Coeyman at gmail.com
- robotresearcher 14y agoThe OED definition is "Best, most favourable, esp. under a particular set of circumstances". So it really is not the degree of goodness or bestness, but the absolute best. Again, like uniqueness, a boolean property. This is only important to me because I'm a scientist/engineer. If I claim my system performs optimally, this is a big claim and needs proof, since I'm claiming it could not possibly be better. Since I have to be so careful in technical writing, my spider-sense tingles when I see technical terms used with an almost-but-not-exactly correct meaning. YMMV.