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Date: Sat, 9 Feb 2013 15:51:13 +1100
Subject: Re: LangWart: Method congestion from mutate multiplicty
From: Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com>
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Xref: csiph.com comp.lang.python:38496

On Sat, Feb 9, 2013 at 12:50 PM, Rick Johnson
<rantingrickjohnson@gmail.com> wrote:
> I really don't like to read docs when learning a language, especially a "=
so-called" high level language. I prefer to learn the language by interacti=
ve sessions and object introspection. Then, when i have exhausted all abili=
ties to intuit the solution, i will roll my eyes, maybe blubber an expletiv=
e, and then reluctantly crack open a user manual.


What Rick means: "I want to claim that I've learned a new language,
but I want it to work exactly like the imaginary language in my mind,
and if it doesn't, I'm going to complain about it, rather than,
yaknow, actually learn a new language."

I have learned *many* languages in the past couple of decades. Some of
them are excellent and I keep using them (Pike). Others are excellent
and I keep talking about them (Python). Some are mediocre or poor, but
I keep using them anyway (bash). Some are not particularly enjoyable
to me and I use them only in the one application that embeds them
(Lua, Scheme, DML). And some, I'm just not going to touch any more
(Q-BASIC). But there is not a single language that hasn't taught me
something new. I'm a better C++ programmer for having learned Python;
a better Python programmer for having grokked Scheme and Lua; and,
believe it or not, a better Scheme programmer for having mastered DML.
And that's a language so obscure it doesn't even have a Wikipedia
page... just a redlink here[1].

Learning a language requires accepting something from it into your
brain, not forcing something from your brain onto the language.

ChrisA

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_programming_languages_by_type#Exte=
nsion_languages