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I thought this was kind of funny: What does annoy him is people misunderstanding his work - or "the technology", as he puts it. One example he gives is an arti

by smanek 18y ago

I thought this was kind of funny: What does annoy him is people misunderstanding his work - or "the technology", as he puts it. One example he gives is an article about him in which the journalist confuses Java and JavaScript (the former is a stand-alone program which can be accessed online, the latter is a browser-dependent scripting language) I'd say that distinction between Java and Javascript is pretty wrong too ...

benhoyt 18y ago
That is funny. "Browser-dependent scripting language" isn't too bad for JavaScript. But "stand-alone program" for Java? That's kind of like calling English a "stand-alone dictionary". Sure, I'm a programmer. But why is it so easy for a journalist to get a definition this wrong? Wikipedia immediately tells one that "Java is a programming language" -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_(programming_language) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_(programming_language)
- chiffonade 18y ago
  Journalists are paid to promote and spin, not to get things right.
- tlrobinson 18y ago
  Nit pick: JavaScript certainly isn't browser dependent, that just happens to be where it originated and the vast majority of usage takes place.
tlrobinson 18y ago
I can't stand reading articles about some technology I'm familiar with that are written for the average person, even if they're factually correct. It reminds me of this: http://xkcd.com/547/ http://xkcd.com/547/
- jdileo 18y ago
  Sometimes an "average person", like me, is in the early stages of their study of your chosen field Mr. Robinson. As such, articles such as this are very helpful. Why the disdain and distrust of a novice trying to educate themselves?
  - tlrobinson 18y ago
    No disdain or distrust, I just personally can't stand reading them.
  - scott_s 18y ago
    The difficulty is that such articles are often written by people who don't have a deep understanding, either. For this reason, their characterizations have subtle errors.
  - vsedach 18y ago
    "Why the disdain and distrust of a novice trying to educate themselves?" Accepting something that is wrong and dumbed down for "average users" is a disservice to yourself. The entire idea of "average users" and the infantilization that goes along with it is a big problem in the computing industry today. Read Ellen Rose's "User Error," and then when you need to learn something next time, go straight to the best available source for it. Frequently these will be technical reports or refereed papers. You don't need some hack being paid by the word to summarize and misinterpret these for you.

by smanek 18y ago

benhoyt 18y ago

That is funny. "Browser-dependent scripting language" isn't too bad for JavaScript. But "stand-alone program" for Java? That's kind of like calling English a "stand-alone dictionary". Sure, I'm a programmer. But why is it so easy for a journalist to get a definition this wrong? Wikipedia immediately tells one that "Java is a programming language" -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_(programming_language) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_(programming_language)

chiffonade 18y ago
Journalists are paid to promote and spin, not to get things right.
tlrobinson 18y ago
Nit pick: JavaScript certainly isn't browser dependent, that just happens to be where it originated and the vast majority of usage takes place.

tlrobinson 18y ago

I can't stand reading articles about some technology I'm familiar with that are written for the average person, even if they're factually correct. It reminds me of this: http://xkcd.com/547/ http://xkcd.com/547/

jdileo 18y ago
Sometimes an "average person", like me, is in the early stages of their study of your chosen field Mr. Robinson. As such, articles such as this are very helpful. Why the disdain and distrust of a novice trying to educate themselves?
- tlrobinson 18y ago
  No disdain or distrust, I just personally can't stand reading them.
- scott_s 18y ago
  The difficulty is that such articles are often written by people who don't have a deep understanding, either. For this reason, their characterizations have subtle errors.
- vsedach 18y ago
  "Why the disdain and distrust of a novice trying to educate themselves?" Accepting something that is wrong and dumbed down for "average users" is a disservice to yourself. The entire idea of "average users" and the infantilization that goes along with it is a big problem in the computing industry today. Read Ellen Rose's "User Error," and then when you need to learn something next time, go straight to the best available source for it. Frequently these will be technical reports or refereed papers. You don't need some hack being paid by the word to summarize and misinterpret these for you.