5 ms·

I don't really see that as a bad thing. Einstein famously didn't memorize phone numbers because you could look it up in book. Quick external lookups are a huge

I don't really see that as a bad thing. Einstein famously didn't memorize phone numbers because you could look it up in book. Quick external lookups are a huge productivity boost since you don't have to spend all the time memorizing something.

bamboozled 2y ago
It's not a bad thing so long as GPS works forever, I also think driving is much more enjoyable when you don't need to be thinking about GPS, it's nice to just focus on where you're going. I have an awesome sense of direction which I attribute to almost never using navigation apps unless I'm really worried about traffic, and even then, I can usually find a less crowded non-recommended router, because I know my way around.
kevlened 2y ago
This is true to a point. You can get huge performance gains using L1 cache rather than accessing network storage.
- malfist 2y ago
  I like your analogy. I agree. This doesn't fit all cases, and it really depends on how often and how long it takes you to look something up. Memorizing directions though? Nah. Takes a while to memorize and is quick to lookup and not used frequently. Knowing basic syntax for a programming language? That needs to be in RAM.
rectang 2y ago
A conversation between Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson from A Study in Scarlet, by Arthur Conan Doyle: > That any civilized human being in this nineteenth century should not be aware that the earth travelled round the sun appeared to be to me such an extraordinary fact that I could hardly realize it. > "You appear to be astonished," he said, smiling at my expression of surprise. "Now that I do know it I shall do my best to forget it." > "To forget it!" > "You see," he explained, "I consider that a man's brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose..." > "But the Solar System!" I protested. > "What the deuce is it to me?" he interrupted impatiently; "you say that we go round the sun. If we went round the moon it would not make a pennyworth of difference to me or to my work."
- thfuran 2y ago
  It can be pretty hard to tell in advance which knowledge will eventually make a difference (or would have, if you had it).
- kibwen 2y ago
  This is a very inapropos quote, because A Study In Scarlet was the first Holmes story, and Conan Doyle later retconned this because it turns out to be very important for a detective of Holmes' sort to be able to draw on seemingly-useless knowledge in order to make serendipitous leaps of logic.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - rectang 2y ago
    I maintain that it's relevant because it illustrates how unreliably people assess just what knowledge is likely to be useful. If anything, the fact that it was retconned reinforces that such assessments can be wrong. For example, there's a notion in this thread relying on GPS makes you soft and that unless you learn how to navigate the way your forebears did you'll be unprepared or something. I find this proposition just as dubious as the notion that actively forgetting that the earth goes around the sun helps you solve murder mysteries. It seems to me as though such assessments are often driven by self-interest and the desire to maximize the social utility of one's own knowledge and experience. Of course, those who believe that that "GPS makes you soft" is unquestionably true may find fault with my perspective. I also just find that passage hilarious. It's simultaneously so misguided and yet so compellingly crafted, which is what makes for great satire whether intentional or not. My Dad read Sherlock Holmes stories aloud to me when I was a kid and that passage has always stuck with me. But perhaps this wasn't the right audience to share it with.
    - adamc 2y ago
      I wouldn't say it makes you "soft", but it makes you inexperienced at it, and people often freeze when they don't know how to do something. Drive around the country and you'll notice that sometimes Google maps doesn't work because your phone doesn't have reception.
ChrisMarshallNY 2y ago
That’s a good description of my programming. I use the documentation panel of the inspector in Xcode, all the time, and write my code to generate this documentation. I’m too grizzled to care much about being sneered at by insecure folks. I am able to get the job done; quickly, and of extremely high quality.

bamboozled 2y ago

It's not a bad thing so long as GPS works forever, I also think driving is much more enjoyable when you don't need to be thinking about GPS, it's nice to just focus on where you're going. I have an awesome sense of direction which I attribute to almost never using navigation apps unless I'm really worried about traffic, and even then, I can usually find a less crowded non-recommended router, because I know my way around.

kevlened 2y ago

This is true to a point. You can get huge performance gains using L1 cache rather than accessing network storage.

malfist 2y ago
I like your analogy. I agree. This doesn't fit all cases, and it really depends on how often and how long it takes you to look something up. Memorizing directions though? Nah. Takes a while to memorize and is quick to lookup and not used frequently. Knowing basic syntax for a programming language? That needs to be in RAM.

rectang 2y ago

A conversation between Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson from A Study in Scarlet, by Arthur Conan Doyle: > That any civilized human being in this nineteenth century should not be aware that the earth travelled round the sun appeared to be to me such an extraordinary fact that I could hardly realize it. > "You appear to be astonished," he said, smiling at my expression of surprise. "Now that I do know it I shall do my best to forget it." > "To forget it!" > "You see," he explained, "I consider that a man's brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose..." > "But the Solar System!" I protested. > "What the deuce is it to me?" he interrupted impatiently; "you say that we go round the sun. If we went round the moon it would not make a pennyworth of difference to me or to my work."

thfuran 2y ago
It can be pretty hard to tell in advance which knowledge will eventually make a difference (or would have, if you had it).
kibwen 2y ago
This is a very inapropos quote, because A Study In Scarlet was the first Holmes story, and Conan Doyle later retconned this because it turns out to be very important for a detective of Holmes' sort to be able to draw on seemingly-useless knowledge in order to make serendipitous leaps of logic.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- rectang 2y ago
  I maintain that it's relevant because it illustrates how unreliably people assess just what knowledge is likely to be useful. If anything, the fact that it was retconned reinforces that such assessments can be wrong. For example, there's a notion in this thread relying on GPS makes you soft and that unless you learn how to navigate the way your forebears did you'll be unprepared or something. I find this proposition just as dubious as the notion that actively forgetting that the earth goes around the sun helps you solve murder mysteries. It seems to me as though such assessments are often driven by self-interest and the desire to maximize the social utility of one's own knowledge and experience. Of course, those who believe that that "GPS makes you soft" is unquestionably true may find fault with my perspective. I also just find that passage hilarious. It's simultaneously so misguided and yet so compellingly crafted, which is what makes for great satire whether intentional or not. My Dad read Sherlock Holmes stories aloud to me when I was a kid and that passage has always stuck with me. But perhaps this wasn't the right audience to share it with.
  - adamc 2y ago
    I wouldn't say it makes you "soft", but it makes you inexperienced at it, and people often freeze when they don't know how to do something. Drive around the country and you'll notice that sometimes Google maps doesn't work because your phone doesn't have reception.

ChrisMarshallNY 2y ago

That’s a good description of my programming. I use the documentation panel of the inspector in Xcode, all the time, and write my code to generate this documentation. I’m too grizzled to care much about being sneered at by insecure folks. I am able to get the job done; quickly, and of extremely high quality.