[blml] 'normal'

[Eric Landau]

On Nov 7, 2007, at 7:57 PM, Steve Willner wrote:

>> From: "Grattan Endicott" <gesta at tiscali.co.uk>
>>  My view is that the word 'normal' excludes
>> the abnormal, and that anything irrational is abnormal. However, if a
>> correspondent as rational as Eric thinks this is unclrear then I  
>> do have
>> an anxiety.
>
> Let me offer a couple of examples; in each case, declarer claims in a
> two-card ending with no statement.
>
> 1) Ax opposite Kx.  I don't think we want to force the irrational play
> of crashing the honors, losing the last trick.
>
> 2) Ax alone with exactly one middle card in the suit outstanding.  I
> don't think we want to force the x to be played (though I suspect some
> would disagree with me here).

I agree that we don't want either of these.  But they seem to be what  
we've got.

> Does the new language clarify that neither play falls within "normal?"
> If not, maybe the expected "guide to interpretation" can do so.

It does the opposite.  It tells us that "careless or inferior" play  
*does* fall within the scope of "'normal'", notwithstanding that we  
would not consider them to do so absent the specific instruction in  
the footnote.  One can hardly deny that the example plays are indeed  
"careless or inferior".  The old limitation which restricted  
consideration of plays that were "careless or inferior" to those that  
are "not irrational" has been expunged.

We can only hope that the expected "guide to interpretation" of the  
new laws will tell us that, yet again, we have laws that are to be  
interpreted to mean something very different from what they actually  
say.  One can only hope further that the WBF will find the humility  
to be embarassed when it discovers it needs to do this.  They deserve  
humiliation for their insistence on refusing to let anyone outside of  
their own strictly limited inner circle so much as glimpse their  
proposed new laws until every word and punctuation mark have been set  
in concrete.


Eric Landau
1107 Dale Drive
Silver Spring MD 20910
ehaa at starpower.net