Normally I skim these write-ups and then move on, but something about this time finds me exhausted. Enough already. I was a huge proponent of XML and back in the day I would also evangelize its capabilities, its malleability. "What a great language for defining data structures that isn't tied to any physical storage requirements." Regex and enum restrictions on attribute values? Okay cool. Substitution groups? Woah. But then y'all started saying "I can't read this" and "angle brackets are too expensive" and suddenly the XML wave just receded back into automotive and logistics, and the world stopped complaining.
I think it is time to accept that the world doesn't need Lisp. It might be your passion. It might just click with your way of thinking. That's all great, but it is still an existential crisis and you need to deal with it. The world is humming along just as well without esperanto and if it completely disappeared from monthly meetups, the world wouldn't notice.
Trust me, I have been to the brink of destruction and waking up the next day is hard, but I have lived it and I know: it is possible to leave behind those things that you think define your being, your identity. You will not fade away completely. Instead, you will find that your existence can have meaning in other forms.
Oh I see you brought a chess board to a basketball game. Okay cool, but just set that down and let's see if we can still have fun with this other game.
I tend to agree with you: this did not age well. You know what is just as bad as architecture astronauts, wunderkinds ranting about how other smart people are stupid. This whole post feels like the aftermath of some late night argument that probably he should have just deleted in the morning. Not to mention the subtle digs in the pics that he conveniently forgot to caption: is that the MIT campus and two pics from Harvard? If it was revealed that this rant was related to some collegiate affair that only three people in the world remember, I wouldn't be surprised.
That seems off topic. SICP is about understanding language, not architecture. That would be like saying you need to understand how SED and AWK would be implemented is Lisp before you try to write a script to use them together to parse a document.
Come on. Two typos in the first few pages; p.2 "servicees", p.6 "lanuage". I know you are smarter than me, but if seven people decided that an editor would be useless, or spellcheck was unnecessary, then you should be prepared for unwarranted, biased criticisms of your conclusions. You're better than this.
Honestly, what is the purpose of this post? Is HN really the place for clickbait? You would get the same reaction with something like "Do you think functional programming is beneficial for software delivery?" or "Do you think Christopher Alexander was a mediocre architect who just happened to be a mediocre computer scientist?" Please tell me that the person behind this is harvesting the names from this Op-Ed comment thread to build a feedbag for their mech turk. I can't wait to get my exclusive offer for all-natural, water-based, non-toxic lube.
I think it is time to accept that the world doesn't need Lisp. It might be your passion. It might just click with your way of thinking. That's all great, but it is still an existential crisis and you need to deal with it. The world is humming along just as well without esperanto and if it completely disappeared from monthly meetups, the world wouldn't notice.
Trust me, I have been to the brink of destruction and waking up the next day is hard, but I have lived it and I know: it is possible to leave behind those things that you think define your being, your identity. You will not fade away completely. Instead, you will find that your existence can have meaning in other forms.
Oh I see you brought a chess board to a basketball game. Okay cool, but just set that down and let's see if we can still have fun with this other game.