Re: the Internet Backbone

[Tim Bass (@NANOG-LIST) <nanog () dune silkroad com>]

As Vadim corrected pointed out in a earlier post, the Internet
is a routing hierarchy.  This hierarchy is *dynamic* and not
static.  Hence, a 'Tier 4' (as Micheal suggests) maybe a 'Tier 6'
in two years... 

It is not practical to define numerical based Tiers, any more than
it is practical to say  200/2=100, 100/2=50, 50/2=25.... okay lets
stop now, cause NANOG defined fractional division 'tier 4' as 
the end user in a press release (?) and told the world that
you cannot divide 25 by 2... *not allowed*. 

FYI, 'a backbone' is not a completely definable entity. Is it
an abstraction.  Discussing the exact defination of an abstraction
is much like playing with a Rubic's cube, a nice way to kill
time.... BTW.

Abstract concepts allow for creative thinking, growth, and 
other conceptual events.  Taking abstractions and trying to
turn them into strict constructs and structures limits
the creative processes,  ad infinitum.

Oh well, now back to another round of..... "Name that Abstraction".

Regards,

Tim