From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: main.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: Burton Samograd Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.help Subject: Re: Cool and Useful LISP for the .emacs file Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 17:00:07 GMT Organization: Shaw Residential Internet Sender: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Message-ID: <87ad72dg53.fsf@kruhft.vc.shawcable.net> References: <87islsc6yz.fsf@kruhft.vc.shawcable.net> NNTP-Posting-Host: deer.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii X-Trace: sea.gmane.org 1068572326 6321 80.91.224.253 (11 Nov 2003 17:38:46 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@sea.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 17:38:46 +0000 (UTC) Original-X-From: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Tue Nov 11 18:38:43 2003 Return-path: Original-Received: from monty-python.gnu.org ([199.232.76.173]) by deer.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 3.35 #1 (Debian)) id 1AJcTT-00022T-00 for ; Tue, 11 Nov 2003 18:38:43 +0100 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=monty-python.gnu.org) by monty-python.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.24) id 1AJd3m-0004yS-KX for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Tue, 11 Nov 2003 13:16:14 -0500 Original-Path: shelby.stanford.edu!newsfeed.stanford.edu!logbridge.uoregon.edu!snoopy.risq.qc.ca!chi1.webusenet.com!news.webusenet.com!pd7cy2so!pd7cy1no!shaw.ca!pd7tw1no.POSTED!53ab2750!not-for-mail X-Trace-PostClient-IP: 24.84.175.238 Original-Newsgroups: gnu.emacs.help User-Agent: Gnus/5.1002 (Gnus v5.10.2) Emacs/21.3 (gnu/linux) Cancel-Lock: sha1:tP7Pu/A4wiMRXLm8bgFyJYnX1To= Original-Lines: 26 Original-NNTP-Posting-Host: 24.69.255.206 Original-X-Complaints-To: abuse@shaw.ca Original-X-Trace: pd7tw1no 1068570007 24.69.255.206 (Tue, 11 Nov 2003 10:00:07 MST) Original-NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 10:00:07 MST Original-Xref: shelby.stanford.edu gnu.emacs.help:118126 Original-To: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org X-BeenThere: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.2 Precedence: list List-Id: Users list for the GNU Emacs text editor List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Xref: main.gmane.org gmane.emacs.help:14066 X-Report-Spam: http://spam.gmane.org/gmane.emacs.help:14066 Jesper Harder writes: > Alan Mackenzie writes: >> All due respect, and everything, but the above is incoherent nonsense. >> "Worse is better"? What's that supposed to mean? > > It's an expression coined by Richard P. Gabriel (a Lisp hacker) while > trying to explain why C and Unix became so popular even though they > (in his view) were technically inferior to The Right Thing, i.e. Lisp. > > See > > > > for more details. Thanks for the clarification; I thought that paper was more widely known. Although the wording of the sentance is a bit inflammitory without reference, I happen to find that it's closer to the way the world works than being technically perfect (better translated as academic). In the end I'm still using a "worse" UNIX based OS, while the LISP machines have faded into history (although many of the ideas still live on inside of emacs). -- burton samograd http://kruhftwerk.dyndns.org