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Interesting. Seems to be a meme with a deep history. https://www.theregister.com/2006/07/26/constants_are_not/ https://www.theregister.com/2006/07/26/constants

Interesting. Seems to be a meme with a deep history. https://www.theregister.com/2006/07/26/constants_are_not/ https://www.theregister.com/2006/07/26/constants_are_not/ > I first read the lament to the capricity of programming [in the title of this piece, "Variables Won't Constants Aren't"] in Creative Computing, years before C was devised. If there's a particular document you feel is canonical to this meme, I'd be interested to read it.

anonymoushn 3y ago
I suspect it's a math thing, because in math it actually describes the normal state of affairs. Anyway, here it is in a compilation of such sayings dated 1979: https://www.cse.unr.edu/~sushil/quotes.html https://www.cse.unr.edu/~sushil/quotes.html
- deleted 3y ago
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- maxbond 3y ago
  That document is a gem worth it's own submission. I'm sure many of it's constituents have been on HN but I took a glance and don't think it's ever been on HN[1], though it appears a dead mirror was once posted with 0 interaction [2]. Feel free to submit it if you want, otherwise I'd like to. [1a] https://news.ycombinator.com/from?site=www.cse.unr.edu https://news.ycombinator.com/from?site=www.cse.unr.edu [1b] https://news.ycombinator.com/from?site=unr.edu https://news.ycombinator.com/from?site=unr.edu [1c] https://hn.algolia.com/?query=Murphy%27s%20laws%20and%20corolaries https://hn.algolia.com/?query=Murphy%27s%20laws%20and%20coro... [2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2863516 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2863516
  - anonymoushn 3y ago
    Go ahead.