4 ms·

I love it when purely ideological comments run into the messiness of reality. Food production being completely contrary to a free market, they are one of the mo

I love it when purely ideological comments run into the messiness of reality. Food production being completely contrary to a free market, they are one of the most heavily subsidized and regulated markets around. As a pragmatist, one of my favorite phrases I say quite often: "The difference between theory and reality is that in theory there is no difference." The article is excellent expose of an issue and a solution. I hope they would include specific things we can do to help improve the situation. I'm part of California YIMBY, which promotes legislation that helps ease these issues.

ignoramous 7y ago
or as Linus says, "Theory and practice sometimes clash. And when that happens, theory loses. Every single time."
dragontamer 7y ago
> As a pragmatist, one of my favorite phrases I say quite often: "The difference between theory and reality is that in theory there is no difference." Hmm, I prefer the phrasing: In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But in practice, there is a difference.
- 4ntonius8lock 7y ago
  Yours is far more straight forward. Which can be great. Mine is intentionally convoluted. It works for two things: 1- Easy to spot people who really aren't paying attention to what you say. 2- It takes a second to understand the point, people remember better when they have to 'figure it out' so to speak. 3- I get a smile from some people if they pause, think it, then understand. I might be wrong in my assumptions though.
  - dragontamer 7y ago
    Well, it isn't "my" phrase. Its just the commonly attributed phrase. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/practice-and-theory/ https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/practice-and-theory/ This "practice and theory" quote was said by someone, but who exactly said it first was lost to time. Its not going to be possible to find the canonical quote (since the cannon-quote seems to be nonexistant). But its definitely a long-running idiom with some history.
    - 4ntonius8lock 7y ago
      Hehe, you are right. When I said 'mine'/'yours' I simply meant what we use. I tend to presume that originality is near impossible with such pithy sentences. For quotes, I only quote things I actually read from the author.

ignoramous 7y ago

or as Linus says, "Theory and practice sometimes clash. And when that happens, theory loses. Every single time."

dragontamer 7y ago

> As a pragmatist, one of my favorite phrases I say quite often: "The difference between theory and reality is that in theory there is no difference." Hmm, I prefer the phrasing: In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But in practice, there is a difference.

4ntonius8lock 7y ago
Yours is far more straight forward. Which can be great. Mine is intentionally convoluted. It works for two things: 1- Easy to spot people who really aren't paying attention to what you say. 2- It takes a second to understand the point, people remember better when they have to 'figure it out' so to speak. 3- I get a smile from some people if they pause, think it, then understand. I might be wrong in my assumptions though.
- dragontamer 7y ago
  Well, it isn't "my" phrase. Its just the commonly attributed phrase. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/practice-and-theory/ https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/practice-and-theory/ This "practice and theory" quote was said by someone, but who exactly said it first was lost to time. Its not going to be possible to find the canonical quote (since the cannon-quote seems to be nonexistant). But its definitely a long-running idiom with some history.
  - 4ntonius8lock 7y ago
    Hehe, you are right. When I said 'mine'/'yours' I simply meant what we use. I tend to presume that originality is near impossible with such pithy sentences. For quotes, I only quote things I actually read from the author.