Structure is nothing if it is all you got. Skeletons spook people if they try to walk around on their own. I really wonder why XML does not. Erik Naggum More Quotes by Erik Naggum More Quotes From Erik Naggum All experience has taught us that solving a complex problem uncovers hidden assumptions and ever more knowledge, trade-offs that we didn't anticipate but which can make the difference between meeting a deadline and going into research mode for a year, etc. Erik Naggum taught-us differences years What people "want" is a function of what they learn is available. If you wish to sell something, you'd better understand that you can't give people what they want in the market today, because what they want today is what they can already get. You have to discover what they really want, and find some way to give that physical shape. Erik Naggum wish giving people From the Latin word "imponere", base of the obsolete English "impone" and translated as "impress" in modern English, Nordic hackers have coined the terms "imponator" (a device that does nothing but impress bystanders, referred to as the "imponator effect") and "imponade" (that "goo" that fills you as you get impressed with something - from "marmelade", often referred as "full of imponade", always ironic). Erik Naggum bystanders ironic latin In Norway, we have a community of people who prefer to use a version of Norwegian that looks very much like lutefisk: Dug up remains from the garbage heap of history and dressed up to look like a tradition. Erik Naggum community people looks Norway did not even have a revolution at the time the rest of Europe was busy figuring out human rights and stuff, because we were busy fighting over how to spell it. Erik Naggum fighting rights europe A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. I regret that this isn't fatal. Erik Naggum dangerous regret littles I'm bothered by the fact that stupid people don't spontaneously combust, which they should. Erik Naggum stupid facts people Have you considered the option of getting the joke? If not, try it now and redeem your soul. Erik Naggum jokes soul trying I have actually programmed a fair bit in Perl, like I have C++ code published with my name on it. Other things I have tried and have no intention to do again if I can at all avoid it include smoking, getting drunk enough to puke and waste the whole next day with hang-over, breaking a leg in a violent car crash, getting mugged in New York City, or travel with Aeroflot. Erik Naggum cities new-york names Enlightenment is probably antithetical to impatience. Erik Naggum impatience enlightenment XML is a giant step in no direction at all. Erik Naggum giants steps 'Code sharing' is an economic surplus phenomenon. It works only when none of the people involved in it are in any form of need. Erik Naggum economic people needs If, however, one factor is too successful, it will continue to be the winning factor regardless of the variation in the other factors over the range of variation in the conditions, and therefore will stifle the development of other advantageous factors until the conditions change sufficiently that it no longer is the winning factor. At this point, the whole population is ill prepared for the change, and may well perish entirely if the winning factor accidentally becomes the matching factor for a disease or a predator. Erik Naggum population successful winning The only important property of evils of the past is that they not be repeated in the future, in any way, shape, or form. Erik Naggum important evil past Once we were Programmers. Maybe our last best hope is a movie. Erik Naggum hoping-for-the-best programmers lasts Let's just hope that all the world is run by Bill Gates before the Perl hackers can destroy it. Erik Naggum bills running world Contrary to the foolish notion that syntax is immaterial, people optimize the way they express themselves, and so express themselves differently with different syntaxes. Erik Naggum syntax different people Elegance is necessarily unnatural, only achieveable at great expense. If you just do something, it won't be elegant, but if you do it and then see what might be more elegant, and do it again, you might, after an unknown number of iterations, get something that is very elegant. Erik Naggum elegance numbers might They don't make poles long enough for me want to touch Microsoft products, and I don't want any mass-marketed game-playing device or Windows appliance near my desk or on my network. This is my workbench, dammit, it's not a pretty box to impress people with graphics and sounds. When I work at this system up to 12 hours a day, I'm profoundly uninterested in what user interface a novice user would prefer. Erik Naggum games long people
