Python is readable

[Prasad, Ramit]

> > My aunt makes the best damn lasagna you've ever tasted without any
> > overarching abstract theory of human taste. And if you think that
> quantum
> > mechanics is more difficult than understanding human perceptions of
> > taste, you are badly mistaken.
> 
> Taste is subjective, and your aunt probably started from a good recipe
> and tweaked it for local palates.  That recipe could easily be over a
> hundred years old.  An overarching mathematical theory of human
> taste/mouth perception, if such a silly thing were to exist, would be
> able to generate new recipes that were perfect for a given person's
> tastes very quickly.
> 
> Additionally, just to troll this point some more (fun times!), I would
> argue that there is an implicit theory of human taste (chefs refer to
> it indirectly as gastronomy) that is very poorly organized and lacks
> any sort of scientific rigor.  Nonetheless, enough empirical
> observations about pairings of flavors, aromas and textures have been
> made to guide the creation of new recipes.  Gastronomy doesn't need to
> be organized or rigorous because fundamentally it isn't very
> important.

I cannot live without eating, I can live just fine without math. 
Your opinion that gastronomy is fundamentally unimportant is 
fundamentally flawed. 

> > In any case, Spolsky is not making a general attack on abstract science.
> > Your hyperbole is completely unjustified.
> 
> The mathematics of the 20th century, (from the early 30s onward) tend
> to get VERY abstract, in just the way Joel decries.  Category theory,
> model theory, modern algebraic geometry, topos theory, algebraic graph
> theory, abstract algebras and topological complexes are all very
> difficult to understand because they seem so incredibly abstract, yet
> most of them already have important applications.  I'm 100% positive
> if you just presented Joel with seminal papers in some of those areas,
> he would apply the "astronaut" rubber stamp, because the material is
> challenging, and he wouldn't get it (I love math, and I've had to read
> some papers 10+ times before they click).

I do not think that you can compare abstract vs real world. 
Joel talks in the context of solving real-world problems for a living
and producing tangible results to justify employment. It is only fair 
to talk about mathematics in the same context. Or vice-versa.

Joining-the-trolling-bandwagon,
Ramit


Ramit Prasad | JPMorgan Chase Investment Bank | Currencies Technology
712 Main Street | Houston, TX 77002
work phone: 713 - 216 - 5423

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