3 ms·
"You do not tell them this is a language for smart people. You do not tell them you are smart because you use this language. You tell them that types are for fa
by dustingetz 12y ago
"You do not tell them this is a language for smart people. You do not tell them you are smart because you use this language. You tell them that types are for fallible people, like we all are. They help us reason and catch our mistakes, because while software has grown more complex, we’re still stuck with the same old brains. If they tell you they don’t need types to catch errors, tell them that they must be much smarter than you, because you sure do."
This tactic is used a lot in evangelism talks and it doesn't work. A lot of the non-FP people listen to these talks and come away thinking, "this person is obviously really smart", and then it comes up in the discussion afterwords, so not only is it unhelpful, but it distracts from the message and perpetuates exactly the myth that we're trying to dispel. We have to calibrate to the audience's understanding of relative words like "smart".
- the_af 12y agoThis. I tried to say something like this in another comment. I am a Haskell fan, but the article sounds like evangelism -- and like with evangelism, its tactics of always-show-you're-humble will inevitably annoy a large number of people.
- AnimalMuppet 12y agoWell, the "If you use anything else, it's because you're too stupid to understand how wonderful Haskell is" attitude also annoys people. (This is not a caricature. People on this board - though not necessarily this thread - have come across that way to me.)
- the_af 12y agoYes, yes, being rude also annoys people. What I'm saying is that many people detect the evangelist's "always humble" attitude for what it truly is: hidden condescension.
- AnimalMuppet 12y agoI didn't read the article that way at all. I read it as a plea for real humility, not fake humility. And I don't think real humility can be hidden condescension.