[CLUE-Talk] On hackers, productivity, and languages

[Sean LeBlanc]

On 07-31 00:09, Jeff Cann wrote:
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> On Friday 30 July 2004 10:03 pm, Jed S. Baer wrote:
> > Found this interesting article on programming and hackers. I'll paste in a
> > few 'graphs -- ought to be good for a little weekend diversion.
> 
> - From the post:
> 
> "In a low-tech society you don't see much variation in productivity. If you 
> have a tribe of nomads collecting sticks for a fire, how much more productive 
> is the best stick gatherer going to be than the worst? A factor of two? 
> Whereas when you hand people a complex tool like a computer, the variation in 
> what they can do with it is enormous."
> 
> So true, especially with the UNIX command-line.  
> 
> I also liked the idea that variation in wealth, productivity are not 
> inherently evil as some like to suggest.   Jucy for debate, IMHO.

This posting by Paul Graham has lit up the Java blogging community like a
Christmas tree...mostly folks irritated at Graham for doing the all too
often "my language can beat up your language" thing. I think "real" hackers
use the toolset that is appropriate for the job at hand. You can feel l33t
all you want, but even bright people have to admit that sometimes something
as lowly as VB/Access is right for some jobs under the right circumstances,
IMHO. Asserting that there is One True Language for all tasks is venturing
into I-have-a-hammer-and-everything-looks-like-a-nail territory. For
humorous reading:

http://javangelist.snipsnap.org/space/start/2004-07-30/1#Paul_Graham_responses
http://members.capmac.org/~orb/blog.cgi/tech/misc/the_h4x0r_list.html