Tell that to the folks at MIT. Trying to build a robot capable of
walking by simply programming into it *how* it should move its legs
is all but a hopeless undertaking.
===
Gregory Woodhouse
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
"The most incomprehensible thing about
the world is that it is at all comprehensible."
--Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
On Jul 13, 2005, at 8:44 AM, HITS wrote:
Whether you are talking about uncertainty or non-determinism as it
relates
to philosophy or computer science doesn't seem to really matter. What
matters is that you have an idea, a vision if you will, of where
you are
wanting to go; a firm grasp on where you are now; and a solid plan
on how to
get from point A to point B. Both uncertainty and non-determinism are
anathama to solid development (IMHO). Even the most cloudy of
visions can
be clarified by clear intermediate goals that take you toward the
cloud.
The closer you get to the cloud, the more the mists separate;
sometimes into
more than one cloud; sometimes not.
Bottom line - plan the work; work the plan.
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of
Gregory Woodhouse
Sent: Wednesday, July 13, 2005 8:05 AM
To: hardhats-members@lists.sourceforge.net
Subject: [Hardhats-members] philosophy???
I wonder if my post last night emphasizing the difference between
uncertainty and non-determinism (and the similarities which I think
tend to go unnoticed) wasn't a might too philosophical. It reminds me
of a time a week or so ago when I was sitting in a cafe reading a
book about provability and a woman started a conversation with me (it
turned out that she was a philosophy student at UC Berkeley).
Immediately, I could see the look in her friend's face: "Oh no! Not
again!" Ever since then, I've been wondering if some formal training
in philosophy might, perhaps ironically, turn out to provide useful
background for parts of computer science, if not software
development. As strange as that sounds, I believe that thinking about
the nature of the task of developing software really can help to make
one a better programmer. I can hear it now: This guy is bonkers!
Maybe so, but as a simple example, one question we would do well to
ask ourselves a little more often is, What am I REALLY doing here?
Basic design questions, such as whether a variable pointer (or
multiple inheritance) is the right way to solve a given problem often
hinge on the answer to a question such as this. and theoretical as it
may seem early on, it doesn't take much time trying to support or
enhance the code you've written before it becomes clear that the
question was really a practical one, after all.
===
Gregory Woodhouse
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
"Design quality doesn't ensure success, but design failure can ensure
failure."
--Kent Beck
-------------------------------------------------------
This SF.Net email is sponsored by the 'Do More With Dual!' webinar
happening
July 14 at 8am PDT/11am EDT. We invite you to explore the latest in
dual
core and dual graphics technology at this free one hour event
hosted by HP,
AMD, and NVIDIA. To register visit http://www.hp.com/go/dualwebinar
_______________________________________________
Hardhats-members mailing list
Hardhats-members@lists.sourceforge.net
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/hardhats-members
-------------------------------------------------------
This SF.Net email is sponsored by the 'Do More With Dual!' webinar
happening
July 14 at 8am PDT/11am EDT. We invite you to explore the latest in
dual
core and dual graphics technology at this free one hour event
hosted by HP,
AMD, and NVIDIA. To register visit http://www.hp.com/go/dualwebinar
_______________________________________________
Hardhats-members mailing list
Hardhats-members@lists.sourceforge.net
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/hardhats-members
-------------------------------------------------------
This SF.Net email is sponsored by the 'Do More With Dual!' webinar happening
July 14 at 8am PDT/11am EDT. We invite you to explore the latest in dual
core and dual graphics technology at this free one hour event hosted by HP,
AMD, and NVIDIA. To register visit http://www.hp.com/go/dualwebinar
_______________________________________________
Hardhats-members mailing list
Hardhats-members@lists.sourceforge.net
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/hardhats-members
