RE: virus: Technology (was manifest science)

The (The@Hermit.net)
Sat, 5 Jun 1999 11:39:24 -0500

On the topic of "Only the usage of a tool can produce an artifact"

The Brettster spouted, "What about human bones found in burial sites? Artifacts? Produced by
tools?!?!?"

Human bones are not artifacts. Relics, yes. Remains, yes. Rubbish, perhaps. Informative, sometimes. Artifacts, never.

The Brettster should bookmark a dictionary so that he can learn to speak the same language as other people, http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary might be suitable. After all, even apes "learning a language" have to learn how to use the "words" they "learn" consistently with their meanings, or they would be regarded as not having learnt anything "useful".

Main Entry: ar·ti·fact
Pronunciation: 'är-ti-"fakt
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin arte by skill (ablative of art-, ars skill) + factum, neuter of factus, past participle of facere to do -- more at ARM, DO Date: 1821
1 a : something created by humans usually for a practical purpose; especially : an object remaining from a particular period <caves containing prehistoric artifacts> b : something characteristic of or resulting from a human institution or activity <self-consciousness... turns out to be an artifact of our education system -- Times Literary Supplement>
2 : a product of artificial character (as in a scientific test) due usually to extraneous (as human) agency

TheHermit