The standard example is that most people can drive a car even though they don't understand how internal combustion engines work -- and they would even if the car were powered by an electric motor. I have no problem with putting that in terms of contracts: turn the steering wheel and the car wheels turn. One doesn't have to know how power steering works.
*-- Russ Abbott* *_____________________________________________* *** Professor, Computer Science* * California State University, Los Angeles* * My paper on how the Fed can fix the economy: ssrn.com/abstract=1977688* * Google voice: 747-*999-5105 Google+: plus.google.com/114865618166480775623/ * vita: *sites.google.com/site/russabbott/ CS Wiki <http://cs.calstatela.edu/wiki/> and the courses I teach *_____________________________________________* On Thu, Mar 21, 2013 at 3:47 PM, Gillian Densmore <gil.densm...@gmail.com>wrote: > where's the part of you beem into the google page: it instantly forms > metrics about you and presents you with "useful" adds (as aposed to to > minuses) :P > > On Thu, Mar 21, 2013 at 4:00 PM, Owen Densmore <o...@backspaces.net>wrote: > >> On Thu, Mar 21, 2013 at 12:40 PM, Russ Abbott <russ.abb...@gmail.com>wrote: >> >>> I disagree with Jean-Baptiste Query's presentation, which implies that >>> you have to understand all levels of any process to understand the process >>> itself. If that were true we would all have to understand quantum mechanics >>> to understand everything. But no one understands quantum mechanics. So no >>> one understands anything. <snip> >>> >> >> Well, the point is that for non tech folks, it is a tower of babble. >> >> I like the presentation because it starts with a simple idea: view a web >> page, and shows the dirty little secret. >> >> I believe it should be the intro to a book that does what I think you >> might prefer: top down, breadth first introduction to digitology. >> >> Or in other words: modularity, and its implementation in standard formats >> and protocols. And no, modularity .. tho nice in program structure .. does >> not happen without the standard formats and protocols. >> >> I have found it hard to explain modularity to non geek folks. Can you do >> it? Most start with code, which as I say, is wrong. But most folks >> understand contracts, and that leads into protocols & formats. >> >> I tried to explain DNS once to a very very smart guy. Registrars, Name >> Servers, TLD hierarchy. His questions kept leading deeper into details, >> and made it all impossible. My poor friend actually got dizzy and ended up >> in tears. >> >> -- Owen >> >> ============================================================ >> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv >> Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College >> to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com >> > >
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