Nor I with you, Raul. A sense of absurdity is a critical component of a sense of humour.
But you hit the nail on the head with the importance of Education. It was how Apple itself got going in the 1980s: handing out free Macs to college professors, whilst IBM and Microsoft were distracted with their feeding frenzy among banks and insurance firms. But the education world, though the pickings are good, is one of the harshest environments to operate in. Been there. Done that. Can show you the scars. On Tue, 19 Oct 2021 at 17:27, Raul Miller <[email protected]> wrote: > Sticking it out certainly is a critical part of any success story. > > That said, Python's wide adoption (and, cringey subcommunities) are > directly attributable to its wide adoption in college curriculum. > > If we want to have our own flocks of similarly cringey subcommunities, > it would behove us to address the requirements of the people putting > together college coursework. > > But, sure, foresight and luck in the context of dealing with a world > disaster or two would also catapult us into similar realms. > > (Note also that I am mostly not disagreeing with you here.) > > Thanks, > > -- > Raul > > On Tue, Oct 19, 2021 at 12:15 PM Ian Clark <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > Interesting point, Raul. > > > > Without wanting to be rebarbative, can I take issue with that? > > > > I don't think Python has succeeded because its promoters (English public > > schoolboys) flaunted their hallmark drippy sense of humour. I think it > was > > in spite of it. I find Monty Python cringingly unfunny, perhaps because > its > > worldwide popularity reminds everyone of a nation we all know. One that's > > out of its depth in whatever enterprise it bumbles into. So maybe I'm > > biased. > > > > Let's shift the question to neutral ground: king penguins. How has a fat > > flightless bird come to rule Antarctica? You examine its anatomy in vain. > > But when you realise Antarctica was once joined to Australia, the home of > > flightless birds, the answer stares you in the face. They got there > first – > > and they stuck it out. > > > > So– no: the Kung Fu Panda secret ingredient is not a sense of humour and > > showmanship. That's just deadweight a beast can lug around whose energy > > comes from elsewhere. Rather it's a sense of absurdity. And how to use > it: > > of finding yourself in an impossible position which is sure to discourage > > competitors. > > > > Oh… and perhaps a world disaster or two, which somehow you survive. Which > > lets you break out of your niche. That's how Forrest Gump cornered the > > shrimp market. > > > > > > On Tue, 19 Oct 2021 at 13:50, Raul Miller <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > Given that Python was originally a reference to Monty Python's Flying > > > Circus, it may be that our stumbling points in the IT world have > > > included a lack in our senses of humor or our showmanship. Plausibly, > > > both. > > > > > > Take care, > > > > > > -- > > > Raul > > > > > > On Tue, Oct 19, 2021 at 5:54 AM Ian Clark <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > > > > > > Thank you everyone. I'm touched. > > > > > > > > But let's be clear about what's happened. A duck has been hatched. It > > > > doesn't fly yet and it will sink in water that's too deep. All it > does is > > > > quack. And in many ways it's an ugly little brute. But to grow it > had to > > > > break out of its shell. > > > > > > > > All too easily I could have spent another 2 years polishing it. But > if > > > that > > > > meant just tinkering with J scripts – well – others can do that too. > I'm > > > > not the best. > > > > > > > > The duckling emerges into the world of a locked-down, sealed-up > device > > > with > > > > a billion users. If it only appeals to one in a million, that's a > > > thousand > > > > prospects. That's what excited me from the start. Plus all the > different > > > > costumes it could don. > > > > > > > > The name J901 doesn't go quack – it goes cuckoo. 2 years ago it had > to be > > > > registered with Apple, which set the name in stone. In that time, > thanks > > > to > > > > Henry's labors, JE became 903. But the name J901 honors J701, the > real > > > > breakthrough. We've been over a decade consolidating Eric's > bridgehead. > > > Too > > > > long for the IT world. A legless animal like Python has lapped us. > But > > > > we're not out of the race. > > > > > > > > Where J901 goes now is up to others. The best use I can make of my > > > > remaining time is to facilitate its uptake. > > > > > > > > Ian Clark > > > > > > > > On Tue, 19 Oct 2021 at 08:38, Simon Barker < > [email protected]> > > > > wrote: > > > > > > > > > Wonderful news! Thank you, Ian, this is very much appreciated. > > > > > > > > > > Simon > > > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > > > From: Programming <[email protected]> On > > > Behalf Of > > > > > Eric Iverson > > > > > Sent: 19 October 2021 01:52 > > > > > To: Programming forum <[email protected]> > > > > > Subject: [Jprogramming] j901 (actually 903-beta-k) available from > app > > > > > store for iPhone/iPad > > > > > > > > > > WOW! > > > > > > > > > > It is with great pleasure that I announce that Ian Clark has > released > > > his > > > > > new version of J for iOS! > > > > > > > > > > It is at the app store now. Search for j901, install, and enjoy. > > > > > > > > > > There are undoubtedly rough edges, but it is a huge improvement > over > > > the > > > > > previous j701. > > > > > > > > > > One rough edge is that the search is for j901, but the app 9!:14'' > says > > > > > j903-beta-k. > > > > > > > > > > Now that there is a clean base, and Ian has overcome the apple > > > obstacles, > > > > > it should be possible to keep this important product current and > > > relevant. > > > > > > > > > > Three cheers for Ian!!! > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > > For information about J forums see > http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > > For information about J forums see > http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm > > > > > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > For information about J forums see > http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm
