canonical

adj. [very common; historically, according to religious law ] The usual or
standard state or manner of something. This word has a somewhat more
technical meaning in mathematics. Two formulas such as 9 + x and x + 9 are
said to be equivalent because they mean the same thing, but the second one
is in canonical form because it is written in the usual way, with the
highest power of x first. Usually there are fixed rules you can use to
decide whether something is in canonical form. The jargon meaning, a
relaxation of the technical meaning, acquired its present loading in
computer-science culture largely through its prominence in Alonzo Church's
work in computation theory and mathematical logic (see Knights of the Lambda
Calculus ). Compare vanilla. Non-technical academics do not use the
adjective canonical in any of the senses defined above with any regularity;
they do however use the nouns canon and canonicity (not **canonicalness or
**canonicality). The canon of a given author is the complete body of
authentic works by that author (this usage is familiar to Sherlock Holmes
fans as well as to literary scholars). The canon is the body of works in a
given field (e.g., works of literature, or of art, or of music) deemed
worthwhile for students to study and for scholars to investigate. The word
canon has an interesting history. It derives ultimately from the Greek (akin
to the English cane ) referring to a reed. Reeds were used for measurement,
and in Latin and later Greek the word canon meant a rule or a standard. The
establishment of a canon of scriptures within Christianity was meant to
define a standard or a rule for the religion. The above non-techspeak
academic usages stem from this instance of a defined and accepted body of
work. Alongside this usage was the promulgation of canons ( rules ) for the
government of the Catholic Church. The techspeak usages ( according to
religious law ) derive from this use of the Latin canon. Hackers invest this
term with a playfulness that makes an ironic contrast with its historical
meaning. A true story: One Bob Sjoberg, new at the MIT AI Lab, expressed
some annoyance at the incessant use of jargon. Over his loud objections, GLS
and RMS made a point of using as much of it as possible in his presence, and
eventually it began to sink in. Finally, in one conversation, he used the
word canonical in jargon-like fashion without thinking. Steele: Aha! We've
finally got you talking jargon too! Stallman: What did he say? Steele: Bob
just used canonical in the canonical way. Of course, canonicality depends on
context, but it is implicitly defined as the way hackers normally expect
things to be. Thus, a hacker may claim with a straight face that according
to religious law is not the canonical meaning of canonical.

