The Xanadu Dream

From the Xanadu website describing a data structure:

"The crum table shows how the rearrangement is enacted within a buffer containing and identifying the crums. A numeral is associated with each crum, showing its level in the tree structure of the enfilade, thus modelling a subrepresentation of the whole structure. The lowest-level crums (level 4) point to string data. WIDs are not shown.

In this map, the three-cut rearrangement of the previous illustration is mapped into its constituent operations on the crum pointers. The “¢” symbol indicates a cut to be made in the crum, specfically to crums K, H, M and N, which we see propagated up to the highest necessary level. A rearrangement of the crums (and sending the crum table to mass storage) completes the rearrangement of the text below.

The first two rows of the illustration identify the crums of a subrepresentation of the enfilade, starting with D, a crum at level 2. Passing rightward, six crums are omitted from the map; then F, a level 3 crum (not involved) and G, a level 3 crum, where the work begins. Below G are 14 level-4 crums (omitted), then K, a level-4 crum involved in the operation, and its succesor L, not involved. We see H, a third-level crum involved in the rearrangement, above M; four other crums are not shown, N (involved in the operation), and then other crum-counts of crums which are omitted.

In the third level of the diagram, showing only a part of the table, we see the cuts propagate to the bottom level as the rearrangement is consummated. Sections of crums are exchanged, after which the “¢” symbols may be removed from the crum table.

To enact the operation, K, M and N are cut. In the method illustrated here, the “¢” sign is used as an actual marker in the crum table. Crum K is replaced by crum K1, the “¢” sign and crum K2. Crum M is replaced by Crum M1, the “¢” sign and crum M2; crum N is replaced crum N1, the “¢” sign and crum N2."

Seriously, what does this remind you of…have you ever read any of the Scientology manuals?

There has always been this thing where people make up new names for things that already exist when they are convinced that their ideas are so mind blowing that existing language cannot adequately suffice.