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> I wouldn't expect Linus to listen to my opinions about the Linux task scheduler. Why not? As an end-user your opinion is very important, you're the one that

> I wouldn't expect Linus to listen to my opinions about the Linux task scheduler. Why not? As an end-user your opinion is very important, you're the one that has to live with the detached decisions that Linus makes regarding the scheduler.

andrepd 11y ago
Do you think you are entitled to an opinion on the design of the brakes of your car? Or on the structure of the foundations of your house? Because you are the one who has to drive the car/live on the house. Unless you have technical expertise in that particular field, your opinion on technical matters has zero value.
zzalpha 11y ago
I picked that example for a reason. Task scheduling is deeply complicated. Optimising for one set of cases hurts others, so it's an exercise in hard tradeoffs. It also has deep knock.on effects in other parts of the system. I do not have the expertise to make proper judgements regarding choices in that space. The breadth of knowledge and experience required greatly outstrips my own. Moreover its a space where subjective experience is the worst possible measure. So my gut feeling as a user is utterly useless in making appropriate technical choices in the space.
perfTerm 11y ago
So he might expect Linus to listen to his opinions on the end user experience, but maybe not to his opinions on how it should be implemented technically? Would that be fair. I'm pretty sure giving people the time of day is an admirable trait and can teach you many things regardless of their expertise. It's after the fact that you disregard the cruft. It's like the Republican debates for me, I can't seem to find any common ground with these candidates but then I find a few nuggets that I do like (such as Jeb Bush's funding of crisis birth centers and increasing the adoption rates in Florida through better funding and education for adoption centers. Even if I'm pro choice I think those are good ideas). Of course, the Republican debates are two to three hours long so it's very thankful they're not very often and you need to find the balance so that you're not just wasting your time. I think it's fair to say that there is no black and white answer to this issue and you really have to go on a case by case basis to maximise your use of the information contained in the people around you.

andrepd 11y ago

Do you think you are entitled to an opinion on the design of the brakes of your car? Or on the structure of the foundations of your house? Because you are the one who has to drive the car/live on the house. Unless you have technical expertise in that particular field, your opinion on technical matters has zero value.

zzalpha 11y ago

I picked that example for a reason. Task scheduling is deeply complicated. Optimising for one set of cases hurts others, so it's an exercise in hard tradeoffs. It also has deep knock.on effects in other parts of the system. I do not have the expertise to make proper judgements regarding choices in that space. The breadth of knowledge and experience required greatly outstrips my own. Moreover its a space where subjective experience is the worst possible measure. So my gut feeling as a user is utterly useless in making appropriate technical choices in the space.

perfTerm 11y ago

So he might expect Linus to listen to his opinions on the end user experience, but maybe not to his opinions on how it should be implemented technically? Would that be fair. I'm pretty sure giving people the time of day is an admirable trait and can teach you many things regardless of their expertise. It's after the fact that you disregard the cruft. It's like the Republican debates for me, I can't seem to find any common ground with these candidates but then I find a few nuggets that I do like (such as Jeb Bush's funding of crisis birth centers and increasing the adoption rates in Florida through better funding and education for adoption centers. Even if I'm pro choice I think those are good ideas). Of course, the Republican debates are two to three hours long so it's very thankful they're not very often and you need to find the balance so that you're not just wasting your time. I think it's fair to say that there is no black and white answer to this issue and you really have to go on a case by case basis to maximise your use of the information contained in the people around you.