[r6rs-discuss] WdW and the nature of Scheme (Was: A guideline for designing Scheme)

From: Anton van Straaten <anton>
Date: Tue, 22 May 2007 21:10:37 -0400

Another forwarded message from J. A. "Biep" Durieux:

> -----Original Message-----
> From: J. A. "Biep" Durieux <rrrs at biep.org>
> Sent: 21 May 2007
> To: 'r6rs-discuss at lists.r6rs.org'
> Subject: WdW and the nature of Scheme (Was: A guideline for designing Scheme)

[Tired and isolated.. :-)]

It is good to see my WdW message stirring up some discussion, but
unfortunately the reactions seem to address the last line only - and
then ignore the word "final" there.

The situation as I see it is a bit like the straddle in an Academic
hospital. This implies a quadrupartition, or rather a double
bipartition:
(1) Scheme, the scientific apothecary, consisting of two parts.
(1a) The Beds, the medicinal garden where carefully-chosen medicinal
plants are grown.
(1b) The Pharmacopoeia, describing tonics and cordials with a proven
wholesome effect, and how to produce them from the herbs from the Beds.
Per ailment there is at most one recipe, and its healing effect is
guaranteed. For many ailments a recipe is still lacking, though.
The apothecary is run strictly according to WdW modality principles.

(2) The Drugstore, likewise consisting of two parts.
(2a) The Mudlands, an eerie and forbidding land where trees grow of
repulsive shape, whose unwholesome fruits possess dark powers.
(2b) The Grymoire, describing potions and concoctions that in general
tend to have a positive overall effect. Their ingredients come where
possible from the Beds, but the Drugstore owners don't hesitate to
harvest in the Mudlands when the Beds don't provide what they need. The
Grymoire contains recipes for many diseases that the Pharmacopoeia
doesn't treat, at times even several competing ones for the same
illness.

Once in a while one or the other of two things may happen to The Beds.
[a] Scheme accepts some plant X from the Mudlands, either in its wild
form, or in the form of a cultivar. In that latter case, a recipe is
added to the Grymoire that describes how to obtain the original effect
in terms of the cultivar, and X is eradicated from the Mudlands.
[b] A new, more fundamental base of plants is found. In that case
recipes in terms of the new plants corresponding to any removed ones are
added to the Grymoire.
Comparable things may happen to the Pharmacopoeia.

Now the hospital as a whole is quite useful, but there are more useful
hospitals. The apothecary is unique, however, and merging it with the
larger hospital would amount to a real loss. So by all means let the
hospital grow, but never by blurring the line between the apothecary and
the drugstore. R6RS could recognise the four quadrants. Let Scheme
remain the language that.. etc.

J. A. "Biep" Durieux - rrrs at biep.org (Please reply here rather than to
the address I had this sent from.
Received on Tue May 22 2007 - 21:10:37 UTC