4 ms·
That's true of any medium-small language, though. I'd argue it isn't true for the smallest of languages, because there's a genre of small languages that are mad
by caslon 5y ago
That's true of any medium-small language, though. I'd argue it isn't true for the smallest of languages, because there's a genre of small languages that are made largely to trap nontechnical people into bad decisions, but it's true for all of the medium-small languages.
Languages that are niche enough to require passion to find and get running average a much better quality programmer, because why wouldn't they? Tesla drivers are, on average, better drivers, because fewer teenagers drive expensive cars. Conlangs have the highest intelligence per speaker, on average, because they require intention to learn. Subscription MMORPGs have the smartest players, because a $15/mo subscription filters out most children. Nearly two decades ago, the guy who made this forum wrote a post about this exact phenomenon with Python, before Python was actually relevant in the industry or had a million resources to learn. Filters work.
You aren't saying something controversial; you're just saying a more limited version of something that everyone already knows because you have tunnel vision. Filter the worst half out, and shockingly, the average looks better. This is a novel idea and you are a genius for coming up with it.
- lordnacho 5y agoDoesn't Haskell have a bit of an aura that languages of similar size don't? Kinda like how people think you're smart/educated if you study Latin, rather than Old Norse?
- rightbyte 5y agoOld Norse seems way more linguist-hipster than latin? However, reading about Haskell makes me feel like sitting in front of a bad university math book throwing hard to pronounce words and proofs at me, when I just want to pass the exam.
- caslon 5y agoHaskell has a reputation because a subset of the community chooses to push a reputation. This is how it works with almost every language. It actually, to an extent, works to its disadvantage. If a metric becomes a target, it stops being a useful metric, and some of the worst programmers I know have made their way over to Haskell to take advantage of this reputation in the last five years. The closest "real" languages in TIOBE are ML (a few positions under Haskell) and Scheme (a few above), and both have a pretty similar reputation.
- benreesman 5y agoIn fairness, the semi-official motto of Haskell is: “Avoid success at all costs.” :)
- caslon 5y agoEvery time I see an SPJ quote I always remember that he's working one step removed from video games now and start laughing.
- benreesman 5y agoI’m generally a fan of lulz for any reason, and I’ve long since lost track of where SPJ was working (I thought he was still at MSR). But what’s wrong with video games? That shit is creeping up on the NFL right?
- michaelt 5y agoWell, games have a complex reputation. Are they works of staggering complexity, pushing the limits of what hardware can do, and one of the few examples of software people will actually pay for? Or are they gigantic mountains of poorly tested hacks, laden with bugs at release, developed under abusive conditions and riddled with DRM, microtransactions and gambling mechanics?
- eru 5y agoThere's lots of different games. Some are both, some are neither. Some are one of the two.
- caslon 5y agoDon't get me wrong, I love video games! Half of my posts on Hacker News are about video games! It's just funny to me to think about how one of the most esteemed members of the FP community is working one step removed from the least-prestigious video game, and was employed directly because of that video game.