Discussion of Naming


The adjective ``time'' allows parallel kinds of indeterminacy to be defined, such as spatial indeterminacy (+E1). We prefer ``time indeterminacy'' to ``fuzzy time'' since fuzzy has a specific, and different, meaning in database contexts (+E8). There is a subtle difference between indeterminate and imprecise. In this context, indeterminate is a more general term than imprecise since precision is commonly associated with making measurements. Typically, a precise measurement is preferred to an imprecise one. Imprecise time measurements, however, are just one source of time indeterminate information (+E9). On the other hand, ``time incompleteness'' is too general. Time indeterminacy is a specific kind of time incomplete information.