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From: Lucio De Re <lucio.dere@gmail.com>
To: 9fans <9fans@9fans.net>
Subject: Re: [9fans] Re: Plan 9 announcements on twitter
Date: Mon, 7 Dec 2020 06:28:02 +0200	[thread overview]
Message-ID: <CAJQ9t7gXW7faij7RcRZLCWsJLZfoBVW5D4yr2DovB6CCsdQdiQ@mail.gmail.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <48cb9989-ef08-4ab5-878f-f2903d7df104@www.fastmail.com>

On 12/6/20, Ethan Gardener <eekee57@fastmail.fm> wrote:
>
> I don't know the hypothesis, but very much agree different languages
> influence how you think and even feel.
>
You know, my most memorable and influential mentor was Daniel
Friedman. I'm not sure I have the spelling right and he's probably in
his seventies, today. His field was anthropology, but he also lectured
adults at SUNY, Buffalo (NY) who wanted a formal qualification after
having learnt the computer programming ropes on the job. What reminds
me of him is that he had written a book on APL programming and I had
just started to get comfortable with the language. I can almost feel
my own mental transition from "before APL" to "after" all these years
ago.

Daniel's repertoire of anecdotes was astounding and extremely
instructive. His theme was pretty much "team programming" and I have
borne that burden with me through decades of operating more or less
alone as a programmer, consultant and analyst.

But the most significant anecdote of my own regards "team
programming". After a fortnight of practically indoctrination from
Daniel, the entire final year CS class was sold on working together
exclusively.

So when some droid came along looking for sharp programmers to develop
some financial software in various distant locations (Switzerland was
one such - I bet it was a scam, but that was the last I heard of it),
we all stood together and refused to accept an offer that would see us
working individually. I don't remember anyone breaking rank, but I
can't be certain.

The prospective employers would have none of it, they felt that teams
of people who already knew each other would be a threat to their
organisation - and they were probably right. I believe I know what
happened in that situation and I seriously believe that with the
mindset of the 1970s, today's hardware and a batch of bright
developers who are keen and willing to work tightly together, we'd be
living in a very different world.

But we couldn't have that, could we? Only those who are no threat to
the Establishment are allowed to succeed. And the Establishment,
specially the financial organisations, is certainly able and willing
to identify them and suppress anything that might threaten their
domination.

A conspiracy theory? More likely simply "social evolution". I'm hoping
the next massive asteroid will hit this planet before we have a chance
to sterilise it beyond recovery.

Lucio.

------------------------------------------
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  reply	other threads:[~2020-12-07  4:28 UTC|newest]

Thread overview: 25+ messages / expand[flat|nested]  mbox.gz  Atom feed  top
2020-11-12 21:36 [9fans] " Skip Tavakkolian
2020-11-13  3:50 ` Lucio De Re
2020-11-13  3:55   ` Don A. Bailey
2020-11-13  3:57     ` Calvin Morrison
2020-11-13  6:31       ` sirjofri+ml-9fans
2020-11-16  0:03       ` [9fans] " cigar562hfsp952fans
2020-11-13 18:45 ` [9fans] " Kim Shrier
2020-11-13 19:05   ` Skip Tavakkolian
2020-11-13 19:09     ` Skip Tavakkolian
2020-11-13 23:23     ` Pouya Tafti
2020-11-16  0:09 ` [9fans] " cigar562hfsp952fans
2020-12-03  3:09   ` cigar562hfsp952fans
2020-12-03  4:01     ` Lucio De Re
2020-12-03  7:25       ` Mart Zirnask
2020-12-03  8:50         ` Lucio De Re
2020-12-03  9:28           ` [9fans] " Bakul Shah
2020-12-04  9:37             ` Lucio De Re
2020-12-04 13:20               ` hiro
2020-12-05  9:12                 ` Lucio De Re
2020-12-05 22:25       ` [9fans] " cigar562hfsp952fans
2020-12-06  3:56         ` Lucio De Re
2020-12-07  4:45           ` Devon H. O'Dell
2020-12-06 19:52         ` Ethan Gardener
2020-12-07  4:28           ` Lucio De Re [this message]
2020-11-18  2:34 ` [9fans] " ori

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