3 ms·
America was probably the closest the world has had to a "clean slate" design: lots of educated developers, a common understanding of design patterns, lack of ex
by DanielBMarkham 15y ago
America was probably the closest the world has had to a "clean slate" design: lots of educated developers, a common understanding of design patterns, lack of external pressure, and more of a common desire to set something up than to control it.
These conditions might repeat themselves in the near future. Hard to tell.
- eli_gottlieb 15y agoIt was also fairly naive. For example, the Founders of America knew nothing about Duverger's Law or Arrow's Impossibility Theorem or most of the rest of modern political science.
- bdunbar 15y agoI don't know about naive - that word has some negative connotations that may not apply. You can build a system that doesn't suck by copying what works, discarding what doesn't. And the Founders had a lot of experience with systems that didn't work very well.
- eli_gottlieb 15y agoSorry, I meant "naive" as in "naive algorithm".
- bdunbar 15y agoHaw. I forgot we're at HN - where aspy is the new normal (smile).
- eli_gottlieb 15y agoI don't actually have Asperger's; I just tend to (in a rare act, for me ;-)) give people the respect of not calling them "naive" in the ordinary sense without actually knowing their decision-making process.
- moldbug 15y agoSome had probably read Filmer, who knew more about political science than "the rest of modern political science:" http://www.constitution.org/eng/patriarcha.htm http://www.constitution.org/eng/patriarcha.htm Unfortunately, Filmer was not PC in 1770s Massachusetts. Probably even the Virginians turned up their noses at him. We're all paying for the result. If you want a real laugh at the Founders' expense, though, read this: http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=2429 http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?documen...