RE: PG: Hackers and Painters

["Bayley, Alistair" <address@hidden>]

(This sounds like another plug for Haskell... which is partly is.)

> And if you want to find the most generally despised languages, look to
those designed by committees.

Maybe true in general, but I can think of one exception. Haskell is a
language designed by committee. Generally loved (well, at least liked) by
most of its users.

(I think that this is a meaningless statement: if someone despises a
language then they tend to stop using it, so the user population will tend
to be populated by those that like the language. Perhaps better said as: I
think it will be difficult to find someone who has used Haskell and hates
it.)

The innovation appears to come from a few small focused research groups, and
the good ideas are slowly incorporated into the language by the committee.


> "Statically typed languages are like American sports cars.
> They go fast, but only in a straight line"

Again, Haskell has static typing, done properly. Whether or not it goes fast
is open to debate...


-----Original Message-----
From: Steve Dekorte [mailto:steve@dekorte.com]
Sent: 19 May 2003 22:09
To: ll1-discuss@ai.mit.edu
Subject: Re: PG: Hackers and Painters


On Monday, May 19, 2003, at 11:37 AM, Matt Curtin wrote:
> Steve Dekorte <steve@dekorte.com> writes:
>> Would Picasso have made better paintings with someone looking over
>> his shoulder and stepping in occasionally?
>
> Perhaps.  Maybe Leonardo da Vinci's work got to the level that it did
> in part through the direction that he received when he apprenticed
> under Andrea del Verrocchio......my experience has
> always been that when I can collaborate with the right person who
> shares my values and goals, my work, and my collaborator's, is better
> than either of us would have produced completely independently...

Matt,

The problem I see is not when someone is in charge, but when no *one* 
is in charge. You'll notice that the successful LL1 languages are run 
by benevolent dictators. And if you want to find the most generally 
despised languages, look to those designed by committees. The book 
"Groupthink" by Irving Janis offers some insight into why groups are so 
poor at decision making.

Cheers,
Steve
"Statically typed languages are like American sports cars.
They go fast, but only in a straight line"


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