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Re: Java puzzler

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On Wed, 11 May 2011 08:10:16 -0700, markspace <-@.> wrote, quoted or
indirectly quoted someone who said :

>Actually I took that as a compliment.  He's saying other people know the 
>language better than him.

Of course. Surely Lew knows the high esteem I hold Patricia Shanahan.
See http://mindprod.com/jgloss/who.html

I mentioned Lew in the same sentence. That is high praise.

When I read the JLS, it always seems to me extremely ambiguous.  I
would never trust my interpretation.  Others seem to understand its
language patterns more deeply and with confidence divine what it
means.  It may be that they have done more experiments and have at a
gut level learned the sort of language Mr. Gosling uses.

To me it seems highly reckless to trust my own interpretation of the
JLS.  It must be supplemented with some experiments for verification. 

I have learned that people like Patricia and Lew can make
pronouncements apparently based on nothing but the JLS that are
remarkably accurate. To me this seems an almost magical ability, like
being able to see in the pitch dark.

Lew thinks everyone should have his skill and are just being lazy if
they don't.  I think his ability is quite rare.

The basic disagreement is Lew wants people to attempt to understand
the JLS on a routine basis.  In contrast, I don't want people to trust
their interpretations.  They should do experiments too, and/or consult
people with high skill.

Interpreting the JLS is a special skill quite different from
programming.
-- 
Roedy Green Canadian Mind Products
http://mindprod.com
How long did it take after the car was invented before owners understood 
cars would not work unless you regularly changed the oil and the tires?
We have gone 33 years and still it is rare to uncover a user who 
understands computers don't work without regular backups.

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Java puzzler Gábor Bakos <aborgabor@gmail.com> - 2011-05-10 16:36 -0700
  Re: Java puzzler Lew <noone@lewscanon.com> - 2011-05-10 20:16 -0400
  Re: Java puzzler Roedy Green <see_website@mindprod.com.invalid> - 2011-05-11 03:03 -0700
    Re: Java puzzler Lew <noone@lewscanon.com> - 2011-05-11 09:07 -0400
      Re: Java puzzler markspace <-@.> - 2011-05-11 08:10 -0700
        Re: Java puzzler Roedy Green <see_website@mindprod.com.invalid> - 2011-05-11 22:02 -0700
          Re: Java puzzler Lew <noone@lewscanon.com> - 2011-05-12 08:35 -0400
            Re: Java puzzler Patricia Shanahan <pats@acm.org> - 2011-05-12 08:13 -0700
              Re: Java puzzler Lew <noone@lewscanon.com> - 2011-05-12 12:11 -0400
                Re: Java puzzler Patricia Shanahan <pats@acm.org> - 2011-05-12 18:28 -0700
          Re: Java puzzler Joshua Cranmer <Pidgeot18@verizon.invalid> - 2011-05-12 10:14 -0400
      Re: Java puzzler Roedy Green <see_website@mindprod.com.invalid> - 2011-05-11 21:49 -0700

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