The term “canonical” has a somewhat different definition in the fields of math and computer science. Eliezer is probably using it influenced by this definition, in the sense of “converting his writing into canonical form”, as opposed to an ad-hoc or temporary form. In my experience, the construction “canonicalize” refers almost exclusively to this sense of the word.
The term “canonical” has a somewhat different definition in the fields of math and computer science. Eliezer is probably using it influenced by this definition, in the sense of “converting his writing into canonical form”, as opposed to an ad-hoc or temporary form. In my experience, the construction “canonicalize” refers almost exclusively to this sense of the word.
See the Jargon File entry for clarification.