2 ms·
> we shouldn't regard formal language as a burden, but rather as a privilege What the hell? Is riding public transport or riding a bike either a burdain or a p
by ClumsyPilot 4y ago
> we shouldn't regard formal language as a burden, but rather as a privilege
What the hell? Is riding public transport or riding a bike either a burdain or a privilidge? Is Driving a car?
I am trying to control shit in my home, it should be neither.
- duggan 4y agoDijkstra's full essay[1] is a bit more illuminating, but essentially it's about how, for example, developing a system of symbols and formal language around mathematics has allowed "school children [to] learn to do what in earlier days only genius could achieve". 1: https://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/EWD/transcriptions/EWD06xx/EWD667.html https://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/EWD/transcriptions/EWD06xx/E...
- em500 4y agoI think his argument even generalizes to literacy in general. Remember that reading and writing skills don't develop naturally (as opposed to spoken language). They require a large educational investment, and used to be reserved for the wealthy and the privileged.