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Yes. So many things in math, in science, in programming, only make sense if you understand where they came from and in what context. Otherwise things just seem
by jhbadger 4y ago
Yes. So many things in math, in science, in programming, only make sense if you understand where they came from and in what context. Otherwise things just seem weird and arbitrary and hard to understand.
- P5fRxh5kUvp2th 4y agoI don't need to understand how a fence post evolved in order to successfully use fence posts.
- jhbadger 4y agoTo use them well I think you would. People who haven't been exposed to a history of a method or technology often say "I think this is silly; I can think of a better way to do this". Sometimes, extremely rarely, they are right. But more often, what they are thinking of is something that was tried and was found not to work well. Knowing the history of what you are doing, and what things worked and failed prevents you from making the same mistakes your forerunners did.
- P5fRxh5kUvp2th 4y agoThere's always an odd dichotomy between those who do, and those who do not. No farmer in existence would ever agree they need to understand the historical context to successfully use a fence post, or that they need it to be able to critically evaluate their specific needs and adjust their usage of fence posts to meet those needs. I find this attitude amongst software architects a lot as well. The stereotype of the hapless academic didn't come about because there's no truth to it.
- _Algernon_ 4y agoIn math everything can be derived directly from the underlying axioms given enough time. You don't need historical context. You may want the set of previously proven things to save some time, but you don't need it.