[TIB] Re: TI-HAKMEM - closing remarks

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[TIB] Re: TI-HAKMEM - closing remarks



AAAAARGH.  My postings do seem to stir up lots of replies (except for
that Hunt the Wumpus one ;).  But I've decided to bow out of this
flamepit for a while.  (My vow: to respond only to factual queries on
the mailing list, and to start threads only for occasional programming
questions, to which I will respond off-list.)
  I would like to clarify my last point, though.  Adam, I *know* you're
not a "hack coder" (which I interpret in this context to mean "a coder
who does good hacks", not "a sloppy coder").  I know most of this
list's readers are not "hack coders".  I'm not sure there is even
such a thing as an exclusively "hack" coder.  That is exactly why I
believed a TI-HAKMEM would be so important to the community -- as a
repository for *good hacks*, a "hall of fame", so to speak; as well
as a place to look for *useful esoterica*.  A place where the hacks
could accumulate while the "non-hack" coders got on with their daily
lives.
  Which brings me to my response: Rome (or, as I point out, Athens)
was not built in a day.
  A parable:

Imagine if Phidias had said to the Athenians, "Let us build an immense
temple to Athena!", and called for expert builders and master sculptors,
and suddenly everyone who had hands started sweeping gravel into a big
pile and calling it the Parthenon.  When Phidias would say, "Hold
it, guys, that's not a temple, it's just a pile of rocks," the
Athenians would calmly and rationally point out that Phidias wasn't
doing anything to solve the temple problem; he had just carved a
few pillars here and there.  They, the Athenians, were the ones doing
the brunt of the work here, and if Phidias didn't like it, he could build
his own so-called "Parthenon" somewhere else, by golly!
  Phidias would point out that a real temple had to be made of marble;
the Athenians would act annoyed and point out that if Phidias wanted
marble, he'd have to supply it himself.  To expect them to do Phidias'
work for him was ridiculous, and egotistical to boot!  Phidias would point
out that throwing gravel at the problem wouldn't solve anything; they'd
just have to wait for some marble -- at which point the Athenians would
throw up their hands and cry,
  "DO YOU WANT TO BUILD THIS PARTHENON OR NOT?"

  End of parable.  End of ego trip.  End of debate.

Phidias went home and washed the dust off his hands and built a tiny
temple on the kitchen table with what little marble he had gathered.
And he was not satisfied, but at least he was done.

 -Arthur

On Sun, 8 Sep 2002, Listar wrote:
> ti-basic Digest	Sat, 07 Sep 2002	Volume: 02  Issue: 067
> ------------------------------
> Date: Sat, 07 Sep 2002 08:23:40 -0500
> From: "Adam N." <sgamer@swbell.net>
> Subject: [TIB] Re: Is there a TI-HAKMEM?
>
> >   My original posting asked the question: "Is there a TI-HAKMEM?"
> > and referred to "cool snippets" and "showcasing talent".  Obviously,
> > I wasn't talking about (sorry, Adam,) "1. Most things that work on
> > the TI-89 work on the 92+."  I was talking about a list of useful
> > algorithms, useful snippets, clever optimizations, and so on;
> > *EXACTLY ANALOGOUS TO THE "HAKMEM" DOCUMENT*.  Hence the use of the
> > term "HAKMEM" to describe what I wanted.  If I had had in mind
> > the sort of submissions you and Aaron Fineman are accumulating,
> > I would have asked something more like "Is there an index to the
> > TI-XX user's manual?"
>
> Arthur, I'm not a hack coder. (I actually tend to doubt that
> Aaron is, either... no offense.) Perhaps you are, so you should
> tell me what you want in the document.
>
> But this, like its predecessor, is a work of the community. I agree
> that the 89==92 line and the 83!=93+ lines are a little trivial,
> but the icon trick is not as well known.
>
> "Undocumented features" are the key here. Or cool code.
>
> So far, we have almost nothing. So contribute, Arthur. Instead of
> standing back and yelling at us for not doing exactly what
> you had imagined, submit an idea. Shape the file to your
> specifications.
>
> I'm sorry that this isn't coming out how you expected. But
> no work of the community ever does.
>
> --Adam
>
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