Talk:Circular definition
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The temptation is so great to summarize the article as See: Circular definition. Scooter
This is BS because EVERY definition is circular.
- I tried to get that effect by adding circular definition to the links page, which someone thought shouldn't be a link. However, I think the page has enough useful information that the joke isn't going to help. MShonle 03:48, 14 Mar 2004 (UTC)
Recursion is fine if it terminates.. Infinite recursion isn't really that successful on most of the computers I have access to Mozzerati 07:13, 2004 May 16 (UTC)
- Infinite recursion is fine if it's a read-eval-print loop in Scheme, which utilizes tail call optimization. You might argue that TCO is really iteration, but for the sake of this article it's recursive.
What's the definition of a definition then? --Eddwardo 23:42, 23 January 2006 (UTC)
The library in the adventure game 'Monkey island 2' has many circular definitions in it's book index, all of them are red herrings while 3 of many books are essential. --Ollj 01:28, 17 February 2007 (UTC)
Re: "EVERY definition is circular" -- true, strictly speaking "circular definition" is a fatuous concept. Take words for instance: All words are defined in terms of other words, therefore their definitions are circular. But the "meanings" of the words, i.e. their signification (what they point to), at least in regards to some words, are learned via experience and not through definitions, if this were not so, all definitions, in addition to being circular, would be meaningless as well. (What it means to "mean", on the other hand, is a thornier issue) Cueyatl (talk) 01:02, 11 March 2008 (UTC)
