¥Since
reference by description is inherently ambiguous, it might be better to set out
to utilize the inevitable rather than try to minimize it.
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¥The ÔURI crisisÕ is said to
result from phenomena like using the same name to refer to
me and my website, or the same name to refer to the weather and
the weather report. These are all examples of overloading
(punning): using a single name to refer to multiple referents.
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¥Overloading
isnÕt always as bad as it is rumored to be. It can be simply a
way of
using names efficiently. Natural language is rife with lexical ambiguity
which does not hinder normal communication (rose, bank); programming
languages routinely do it (+ means both integer and real
addition); Common Logic allows a single name to denote an individual,
a function and a relation (and IKL adds proposition to the list).
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