Warp <war### [at] tagpovrayorg> wrote:
> Mike the Elder <nomail@nomail> wrote:
> > Take the name "HAL" - replace each letter with the next letter of the
> > alphabet...
>
>   But that's not how it got the name.
>
> --
>                                                           - Warp

*Possibly* not... I'm aware of the fact that Arthur C. Clarke has gone out of
his way on several occasions to say that it wasn't.  (HAL = Heuristically
programmed ALgorithmic computer)  Well, sometimes human beings just plain fib.
Both Clarke and Kubrick had reasons for wanting to stay in IBM's good graces.  I
think that both the claims that it definely was a coincidence and that it
definitely wasn't are stronger that the evidence supports. We will probably
never know for sure. Which is fine, because mysteries are almost always more fun
than solutions*.   ;-)

Best Regards,
Mike C.


*There are definite exceptions to this rule of thumb, like "Just what *IS* the
cure for cancer?"

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