5 ms·

Ruby is closer to Blub than Java. I'm not sure why you would even mention them both in the same breathe. You know that for Paul Graham (and anyone else who is i

Ruby is closer to Blub than Java. I'm not sure why you would even mention them both in the same breathe. You know that for Paul Graham (and anyone else who is informed) Blub essentially means LISP yea?

TheZenPsycho 13y ago
Uh, what? if "Blub" meant any specific language, or any specific kind of language, why anonymise it? Are we suddenly afraid of embarrassing java or ruby programmers for getting stuck on terrible languages? Isn't it more likely that "Blub" simply means whatever language it is you happen to be using ?
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- yohanatan 13y ago
  He doesn't anonymize it at all. Read: 'Revenge of the Nerds'. He specifically mentions Java as the language the pointy hard boss prefers. Also, the post I responded to (and my subsequent post) was a bit confused about what it referred to as Blub. Blub is in the middle and LISP is on the top of the power continuum.
  - habosa 13y ago
    You clearly don't understand the Blub paradox. Blub is whatever language you are using.
    - yohanatan 13y ago
      No, I understand it very well. Blub is whatever language you are using that isn't on the top of the power continuum. As of this point in human history, LISP sits at that end of the spectrum (all of this is directly from PG-- if you have issue with it, please read more of his essays). I've already mentioned 2 essays but he has written books on it as well. In short, PG makes it clear in his writings that LISP is the most powerful language we have as of yet and he even puts forward the idea that it might theoretically be the most powerful language possible (due primarily to its syntax being a human-readable [and morphable] representation of an AST).
amtab 13y ago
Where are you getting the idea that Blub refers to Lisp? If you read the actual essay, it seems to refer to Java or something similar. The whole metaphor is about why developers don't all use the most powerful languages, and he is clearly saying that Lisp is one of those.
- yohanatan 13y ago
  Oh, I did read the essay but it's been a while and I don't remember all of the details. I took it that the post I responded to wasn't confused when it said that Blub was at the upper end of the spectrum but now that you mention it, you are probably right.

TheZenPsycho 13y ago

Uh, what? if "Blub" meant any specific language, or any specific kind of language, why anonymise it? Are we suddenly afraid of embarrassing java or ruby programmers for getting stuck on terrible languages? Isn't it more likely that "Blub" simply means whatever language it is you happen to be using ?

deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
yohanatan 13y ago
He doesn't anonymize it at all. Read: 'Revenge of the Nerds'. He specifically mentions Java as the language the pointy hard boss prefers. Also, the post I responded to (and my subsequent post) was a bit confused about what it referred to as Blub. Blub is in the middle and LISP is on the top of the power continuum.
- habosa 13y ago
  You clearly don't understand the Blub paradox. Blub is whatever language you are using.
  - yohanatan 13y ago
    No, I understand it very well. Blub is whatever language you are using that isn't on the top of the power continuum. As of this point in human history, LISP sits at that end of the spectrum (all of this is directly from PG-- if you have issue with it, please read more of his essays). I've already mentioned 2 essays but he has written books on it as well. In short, PG makes it clear in his writings that LISP is the most powerful language we have as of yet and he even puts forward the idea that it might theoretically be the most powerful language possible (due primarily to its syntax being a human-readable [and morphable] representation of an AST).

amtab 13y ago

Where are you getting the idea that Blub refers to Lisp? If you read the actual essay, it seems to refer to Java or something similar. The whole metaphor is about why developers don't all use the most powerful languages, and he is clearly saying that Lisp is one of those.

yohanatan 13y ago
Oh, I did read the essay but it's been a while and I don't remember all of the details. I took it that the post I responded to wasn't confused when it said that Blub was at the upper end of the spectrum but now that you mention it, you are probably right.