On the impossibility of defining anything whatsoever (as Rob might have you believe) (Was: Re: New issue?: vocabulary maintenance

[Brian Thomas]

On Wednesday 06 February 2008 11:50:23 am Alasdair Gray wrote:
> Brian,
> 
> I'm afraid I have a quibble.

	Sure.

> [snip] 
> 
> >
> > Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the most luminous events occurring in the universe since the Big Bang. 
> > They are flashes of gamma rays emanating from seemingly random places in deep space at random times. 
> > The duration of a gamma-ray burst is typically a few seconds, but can range from a few milliseconds to 
> > minutes, and the initial burst is usually followed by a longer-lived "afterglow" emitting at longer wavelengths
> >  (X-ray, ultraviolet, optical, infrared, and radio). Gamma-ray bursts are detected by orbiting satellites 
> > about two to three times per week, but their actual rate of occurrence is much higher because not all 
> > bursts are pointed at Earth.
> >   
> This is somewhat long-winded for a definition in a vocabulary. Ideally 
> we want a sentence or two to succinctly convey the idea of the concept 
> without pinning down the definition too far that it is controversial.

	Actually, thats fine with me. I'd be happy with the first 2 sentences. Is that short enough?

	=brian