Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 29, 1988)
Page 10/The Battalion/Monday, August 29, 1988 AM/PM Clinics CLINICS Minor Emergencies Weight Reduction Program Stop Smoking Program 10% Discount With Student ID College Station 845-4756 693-0202 779-4756 MSC Barber Shop Located on the Texas A&M University Campus serving the general public Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Styles & Layer Cuts $1 00 off with this coupon Haircuts 6.00 Blocked Cuts 7.00 Layer Cuts 9.00 Styles 12.00 TAMU PISTOL TEAM tryouts will be held the first two weeks of the fall semester on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday nights, 7-9p.m. in the basement of the Military Sciences Building (Trigon). Experience with .22 pistol competition preferred. Lutheran Collegians provides Free Rides to Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church Sunday 9:05-9:15 Sibisa & Commons Game may alter philosophers’ image SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Since the days of Plato and Socrates, philosophers have been type cast as intense thinkers who sit alone brainstorm ing for answers to global problems. But Dr. Peter French, chairman of Trinity University’s philosophy department, and several of his students are trying to change philosophers’ stereotype. To do so, they’ve enlisted the help of a computer and Jack-the-Ripper, who 100 years ago in August began slashing his way to infamy in the dark, fog-filled streets of London. What French and his students have developed is a computer game that allows the player to trade in the philosopher’s toga for the Scotland Yard detective’s deerstalker cap and trench coat in search of the murderous fiend who disembo welled five prostitutes between August and No vember 1888 in the White Castle area of London. Using a little wit, 10 nimble fingers and asking the computer the right questions, French prom ises the amateur sleuths not only will be able to become more logical thinkers, but might also will be able to solve the most notorious “who dunnit” cases. “The intent of the Jack-the-Ripper program is not for it to become a teaching tool as much as a way of self-help, to give the individual better rea soning skills, a better ability to pick out facts from what they read,” French said. “We’ve taken this abstract subject matter — philosophy — and tried to find ways in which it can be put to practical use and I think we’ve really hit on something that’s potentially going to be one of the most interesting things that we can produce out of philosophy this year,” French said. The computer caper has been taken to several workshops and has received rave reviews. Several companies have asked about producing and mar keting the disks for the masses, French said. The Ripper game — which took about two years to research, program and debug — is only one of three problem-solving computer games being developed by philosophy students, who are supported by foundation grants, French said. The Ripper game is the most popular and most marketable because it centers on a case that “people have struggled with for 100 years and we still may not have the answer,” French said. For the Ripper program, several top-notch philosophy undergraduates were hired to pour through mounds of books, newspaper articles, magazines and other literature to set up the game’s data base and to come up with a theory to evaluate against other theories. “We’re about as certain, given the evidence that has been amassed, of who the Ripper was. I think we’ve hit on the best explanation and it’s not the same explanation as what was in the re cent book that came out on Jack the Ripper,” French said. “What we are trying to do is match the facts, the opportunities, the alibis, the motives, what all the normal things you look for in a criminal in vestigation have to do with the actual facts of the cases,” he said. The latest book, “Jack the Ripper, the Com plete Casebook,” by Donald Rumbelow, claims that Montague Druitt, a young school teacher and attorney, committed the murders after he became insane. The author, a London policeman, claimed he had access to some of Scotland Yard’s most confi dential papers for his research and suggests there may have been a coverup among law en forcement agencies. The last victim, Mary Kelly, a 22-year-old prostitute, was killed on Nov. 9, 1888, and Dr- uitt’s body was found in a river in early Decem ber. The dates suggest he was the Ripper because the killing’s stopped with his death. Although French believes there may have been some public corruption in the coverup, he does not believe Druitt was the stalker. “You can’t make the facts fit your favorite the ory and the program is designed to force you to pay heed to the facts and if you don’t and come up with an interesting theory, but it’s off the wall, the computer tells you that,” French said. Fench won’t divulge the killer’s identity, saying it would defeat the purpose of the game. Much of the Ripper programming was done by Susan Sweeney, a 22-year-old graduate stu dent who will continue post-graduate philosophy stuflies at Syracuse University in the fall. “What really excites me about this is that you are trying to solve a problem that doesn’t have a definite solution,” she said. The first screen of the computer game sets the tone for what is to come. The background is in blood red and the data tells the players the who, what, where and when of each murder. The next stage, the first to test the player's log ical reasoning skills, asks whether the sleuth wants to know about the victims or suspects. The victims’ category, Ms. Sweeney suggestsjs the most logical choice to begin an investigation. Each victim has an individual file, with numer ous subsets that can be accessed by one-word nounsi For example, if the sleuth wants to know about the weapon used, the word “weapon” can be typed in and the computer will retrieve all infor mation about the weapon believed used. If information about injuries is wanted, “dis- embowelment” would retrieve information that describes in gruesome detail the victim’s condi tion when found. The words witness, investigation, autopsy, doctor, coroner, suspect, prostitute and countless others also retrieve information from the data base to help in the investigation. Like true-life detectives, the computer sleuths are encouraged to keep a notebook to jot down some of the descriptions or names of witnesses because reaccessing information will cost points at the end of the game. Once satisfied there is enough information about the victims, the detective can access the sus pects’ files and search for clues. The player can also compare what the victims and suspects had in common. When the player is convinced he has solved the crime, he goes to the last section of the game and tells the computer the identity of the killer. for more information call 693-4514- P PIZZA a- -FACTORY- formerly Gumby’s Pizza Welcome Aggies! —we still honor all valid Gumby’s coupon Try our 2 for 1 pizzas and our new item Italian Sub sandwiches. “Fast, Fresh, Hot & Delivered Free!” 1702 Kyle South 76-GUM BY Mystery author reveals Texas past AUSTIN (AP) — The city of Houston with hardly any mosqui toes? How so? It was so in the summer of 1837, said a visitor to Texas. Scholars say the written obser vations by the unknown visitor re main the best description of Texas during its first year as a republic — an independent nation of southern ers and storekeepers and soldiers who “not only fought but drank in platoons.” The account first appeared as “Notes on Texas” between Septem ber 1838 and April 1839, in a monthly literary magazine, Hespe rian, published in Columbus, Ohio. The University of Texas Press published the material in 1958 as a hard-cover book, “Texas In 1837.” It was edited by former Rice Univer sity professor Andrew Forest Muir, whose footnotes complement the text. The book was reissued in pa perback in 1961 and again this year, 19 years after Muir’s death. Texas bookman John Jenkins calls the book “. . . an unparalleled de scription of the Texas republic in its infancy, often with keen insight and humor.” Muir says in the book’s introduc tion he regretted that he had been unable to identify the author but “The city of Houston, during the summer, could not have be said to be in fested to any great extent with the mosquito; what few there were were con fined to the banks of the bayou. —Texas visitor in 1837 provided from “internal evidence” deduced the following J about the mystery guest: His surname proba bly began with R; he was young; probably a resident of Cincinnati; certainly was a southerner; must have lived in Pulaski, Tenn., before moving to Ohio; and must have been a Baptist. He also had at least a secondary education — and was perhaps a law yer. Muir noted that the use of “stampeded” in the author’s phrase “the flies had stampeded our horses” antedated by six years the earliest us age recorded in the Dictionary of American English. The author arrived at Galveston Island on March 22, 1837, less than a year after the Battle of San Jacinto, and was aboard the outbound ship Phoenix on Oct. 5-6. In his six-month visit to Texas, the author went up Galveston Bay, San Jacinto River and Buffalo Bayou to Houston, arriving some two months after the first lots were sold and first buildings put up. He lingered there for some weeks, Muir said, then set out for San Antonio, which had a population of 5,000. He appeared to have retraced his steps back to Gal veston Island. The city of Houston, “during the summer, could not have be said to be infested to any great extent with the mosquito; what few there were were conf ined to the banks of the bayou,” the author wrote. Muir, in a footnote, commented, “It was later said that during Hous ton’s first summer there were so few mosquitoes in town that no mosquito bars were required. As the number of cisterns increased, so did the number of mosquitoes.” The author said linen tents were used for “groceries,” and Muir noted, “Groceries, according to the then current usage, were liquors and also places where they were sold.” Indeed, the author said, “Nothing was regarded as a greater violation of established etiquette than for one who was going to drink not to invite all within a reasonable distance to partake, so that the Texians being entirely a military people not only fought but drank in platoons." A liberty pole was put up in Hous ton on the first anniversary of San Jacinto, the author wrote. Muir said it was put up on Main Street, proba bly between Gommerce and Frank lin avenues. In February 1840, the city council ordered the pole moved to the courthouse square and pro hibited the town from putting up poles anywhere other than on public squares, Muir said. “Years later the surviving San Ja cinto veterans in Houston carried a piece of the pole in San Jacinto Day | parades, after which mey made a | round of saloons in which, by plac ing the log on the bar, they obtained f ree drinks," Muir said. Also on the first anniversary of San Jacinto, President Sam Houston “added to his other merits” re mained “perfectly sober” during a celebration dance, the author said. A Muir footnote, however, said “it seems that Houston did get drunk after the dance, for Benjamin Fort Smith, at whose inn there was a mid night supper following the dance, hilled Houston for liquor and bro ken glasses at a champagne party on April 22.” TOYOTA QUALITY WHO COULD ASK FOR ANYTHING MORE! » ~ —Parts and Service Hours—• __ „ Mon.-Fri. 7:30a.m.-6:00p.m. 775-9444 FREE SHUTTLE To Work or Home within Bryan-College Station TOYOTA QUALITY SERVICE FRONT END ALIGNMENT •Set caster, toe and camber on applicable vehicles. •Inspect steering, shocks and tire wear. •Center steering wheel. Expires 8-31-88 $19 95 toy“a“aTj^"S“c~ "1 MINOR TUNE-UP • Install Toyota-brand spark plugs. • Check air. fuel and emission filters. • Inspect ignition wires, distributor cap and rotor, belts, hoses and PCV valve. Expires 8-31-88 d>0095 11 siifluty higher Doc* not include OO.OOO-tnlie platinum ptugt. $39' ^ bC OCXTmdc pLMinum ptuffc. COMPLETE BRAKE SERVICE <fc7Q95 ip t %J * parts Indudes turning rotors, repack w/brgs frt pads, turning drums and rear shoes. 'Does not indude 4 wh. dr. & some model Tercels. UfMIVGRSITV :A Ccnrmutrut'tit tolxidlnuv 775-9444 TEXAS AT COULTER N0RTHGATE SHOPPING CENTER 409 University Drive 409/846-4232 University Bookstores THREE CONVENIENT LOCATIONS CULPEPPER PLAZA Texas Avenue & Hwy. 30 409/693-9388 DRAWING ENTRIES ACCEPTED AND PRICES EFFECT UNTIL SEPTEMBER 9, 1988. PRIZES ON DISPLAY AT OUR LOCATIONS. VILLAGE SHOPPING CENTER University Drive across from the Hilton 409/846-4818 Store Hours: 8:00am 8:00pm to tour theee fatUctfc prizes/