[Python-ideas] Does jargon make learning more difficult?

[Abe Dillon]

[Steven D'Aprano]

> If you go back far enough, pretty much all words and written symbols are
> arbitrary.


I think this is wandering into nihilistic pedantry.
Go back or forward far enough (or zoom in or out far enough) and nothing
means anything.

When I first learned Python, I had never heard the word "tuple" but as soon
as I saw it, it made sense to me.
It comes from the latin suffix for adjectives relating to multiples of
things: "-uple"
It's been around long enough to make its way into many common words
(triple, tuplet, multiple) and many languages.
That context makes it easy to remember.

My guess is: even if you've only learned basic English, you have a far
greater chance of being able to remember the meaning "tuple" over "lambda".
Possibly even if you've never learned English, your chances of being able
to relate "tuple" to relevant concepts is higher than being able to anchor
"lambda" to anything relevant.

[Steven D'Aprano]

> As I posted earlier, lambda has become a standard term


I would agree that it's become a known term among computer scientists and
maybe even the majority of professional programmers, but:

1) There are several terms commonly used interchangeably for the same
concept including 'anonymous function', 'function literal', even 'deferred
expression' works in the context of Python because the implementation only
allows for a single expression (or implicit return statement?). So I don't
think it has been standardized in the sense that it's the one, agreed upon,
term.

2) being known of, does not equate to being well known. I've heard of a
"busy beaver", but I couldn't tell you off the top of my head what it is.
Lay people have heard of and talk about DNA or genes or genetics, but if
you ask them what a codon is, most people's faces will go blank. The jargon
of genetics is known about only in vague terms.

3) You've provided documentation from several languages to show that the
term is used, but have you compared that to the usage of other terms?

4) Sometimes standardized terms can still be warty. There are plenty of
terms in Science and Engineering that have confused roots and confusing
consequences, but are too ingrained to abandon. The term "Rare Earth
Metals" was coined in the late 18th century even though many of the
elements are quite plentiful. Anonymous function or function literal are
actually descriptive. Why not back those horses?

[Steven D'Aprano]

> There's nothing function-like about "lambda", but there's nothing
> function-like about "function" either.


I'm not sure what you mean by that.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-ideas/attachments/20180823/7eaf63ca/attachment-0001.html>