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While I do agree that just saying "Well, Rob Pike and Ken Thompson must know what they're doing" is not a valid argument. I actually don't see many people maki

by NateDad 12y ago

While I do agree that just saying "Well, Rob Pike and Ken Thompson must know what they're doing" is not a valid argument. I actually don't see many people making that argument. However.... There's authority, and then there's deep domain knowledge. If I was in the market for a bicycle, and Lance Armstrong had built one, you better believe I'd at least try it out. And even if I didn't entirely understand why he built it the way he did, I'd probably just assume he knows WTF he's doing. Note that the whole reason this HN thread exists is not because some random book on Go is being published, but because Brian Kernighan's name is on the cover.

Dewie 12y ago
> Note that the whole reason this HN thread exists is not because some random book on Go is being published, but because Brian Kernighan's name is on the cover. Fame is a good enough reason to give things priority when it comes to checking it out. But it is not a valid reason for saying why it is good to begin with. There's a difference between saying "I might buy this book because it is written by X", and "This book is good since it is written by X".