Technology and Grammar

Polycarp66 at aol.com Polycarp66 at aol.com
Fri Aug 16 20:54:21 EDT 2002


In a message dated 8/16/2002 11:52:02 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
eweiss at gte.net writes:


I believe that some of this was done by Dan Wallace in writing and
checking his exegetical syntax book, GREEK GRAMMAR BEYOND THE BASICS. His
syntax categories and exegetical conclusions were at times based on
computer examinations of the Greek text. I think he also has
discussed/used this methodology for some of his essays at www.bible.org
("The Prof's Soapbox). He at least has mentioned how programs like
accordance and gramcord now allow scholars and even students to validate
or determine grammatical "rules" or usages with greater precision and
speed than has ever before been possible.
____________________________________________

I think it's important to realize that computers are simply machines which 
can add one and one -- but they do it very fast.  They are not truly able to 
think.  It is the human sitting at the keyboard who through the composition 
of the program which governs the action of the computer or who through the 
data which he imputs into the program who determines the outcome.  A flawed 
methodology exemplified in a poorly constructed program or faulty data which 
is input will produce a faulty product.  GIGO -- "garbage in, garbage out."  
One does not simply hand a text to a computer and say, "Here, analyze this."  
The old excuse "It's a computer error" won't work.  Computers generally 
either work or they don't.  If there is an error it is the human who made the 
error.

Having said that, I think there is great potential for using a computer to 
analyze the data so long as one can ascetain that the methodology employed 
and the data supplied are accurate.  The machine will not think for you.

gfsomsel



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