Re: Lucid statement of the MV vs RM position?

From: Keith H Duggar <duggar_at_alum.mit.edu>
Date: 10 May 2006 00:49:55 -0700
Message-ID: <1147247395.562044.143850_at_u72g2000cwu.googlegroups.com>


Pickie wrote:
> Hi Ralph,
>
> I just don't understand how you could read my little
> article and think I got those two points wrong.
>
> I didn't say the RM was based on tables. I said 'The
> method used is formal, mathematical, and uses data which
> is in a tabular form.' When the basic concept is rows and
> columns, I think that's a fair statement. Maybe I was
> wrong to say "The tabular form was inspired by data
> storage structures where data was held in tables of fixed
> length fields." However, if Codd did or did not draw
> inspiration from the source I thought he had - so what?

This is an example of the willful ignorance that astounds me.

"so what?" ??!!

The so what is that you were _wrong_. The so what is that you assumed knowledge you did not have nor had any place assuming. The so what is that your false statement may and most likely does mislead some of your readers. The so what is that had you educated yourself even slightly by reading Codd's original paper you would then have _known_ this statement was false. Especially considering that (as far as I can tell) Codd was reacting to some of the many complex and certainly not tabular storage methods of the time such as hierarchic formats. The so what is that you did your part to promulgate misinformation.

Sadder still is that you seem unwilling perhaps even emotionally _unable_ to accept that you were wrong. I quote "Maybe I was wrong ...". Maybe?

Finally and saddest of all when you are corrected rather than accept the correction with humility and appreciation you dismiss it with a flippant "so what?". And worse after TWO WEEKS you haven't taking even the _minimal_ step of correcting the webpage?! Pathetic. Can we conclude you are dishonest since you allow misinformation that you are now aware of to persist?

If you have any shred of intellectual honestly and decency you will have the page corrected immediately and learn to show appreciation when someone corrects _your_ mistaken assumptions. Received on Wed May 10 2006 - 09:49:55 CEST

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