Suchergebnisse

Data bases, because of their affinity with historical source materials (eg, "classical sculpture, oriental glyptics, mediaeval ceramics, Latin inscriptions, etc") will become increasingly numerous & will effect a change in practices commonly followed in historical studies. Following a description of the procedures used in the study of historical sources in relation to data bases, some of the theoretical consequences of the use of data bases are explored. One of the major effects will be the depreciation of compilations of data per se accompanied by a greater emphasis on the selection from the data of those facts which can be shown to have scientifically verifiable significance. Discussion concerns the institutional consequences of: (1) questions of access, which will be increasingly decentralized, & (2) questions of the role of learned associations in the selection of fields that lend themselves to data bases, definitions of the data bases, & provisions for up-dating them. The pedagogical consequences flow from the theoretical consequences: less store will be set by the accumulation of knowledge & more by the capacity for reasoning. Limitations of mechanical data-handling are discussed. J. N. Mayer.