From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: Rustom Mody Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.help Subject: Re: why not "stripes" in: (let ((zebra 'stripes) ... ; strings vs symbols? Date: Wed, 1 Jan 2014 10:23:59 +0530 Message-ID: References: NNTP-Posting-Host: plane.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-Trace: ger.gmane.org 1388552065 16605 80.91.229.3 (1 Jan 2014 04:54:25 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@ger.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Wed, 1 Jan 2014 04:54:25 +0000 (UTC) To: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org Original-X-From: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Wed Jan 01 05:54:33 2014 Return-path: Envelope-to: geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([208.118.235.17]) by plane.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.69) (envelope-from ) id 1VyDpB-0006rG-FN for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Wed, 01 Jan 2014 05:54:33 +0100 Original-Received: from localhost ([::1]:36391 helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1VyDpB-0003Zq-2G for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Tue, 31 Dec 2013 23:54:33 -0500 Original-Received: from eggs.gnu.org ([2001:4830:134:3::10]:39863) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1VyDp0-0003Wr-HN for help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org; Tue, 31 Dec 2013 23:54:23 -0500 Original-Received: from Debian-exim by eggs.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1VyDoz-0006f1-DR for help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org; Tue, 31 Dec 2013 23:54:22 -0500 Original-Received: from mail-pd0-x22a.google.com ([2607:f8b0:400e:c02::22a]:50969) by eggs.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1VyDoz-0006eL-63 for help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org; Tue, 31 Dec 2013 23:54:21 -0500 Original-Received: by mail-pd0-f170.google.com with SMTP id g10so13059371pdj.1 for ; Tue, 31 Dec 2013 20:54:20 -0800 (PST) DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=20120113; h=mime-version:in-reply-to:references:from:date:message-id:subject:to :content-type:content-transfer-encoding; bh=5WmNiG6T7EMhkZpTXfvatwhHCAckv+/QTMPWWX+Fv9Q=; b=zpa0b/ggMOKgNwPj4shWTaQ16PYo5Ly8HhR0wwQFQ8lT9FgAiKSFV1Q2e9wDojkUTL M91IdwJfX+2DiIs9RYv3R3eTlnWWolBO1BTSNY6erdnfkELFTgvojHT4z70rFyatB6jH u2uPTQPBpUUgK4RhFjpo6Yq8IVWRkbt2xBnHsXZx4VKFnd6RMe0unCjtshGeqIxIxxHJ 1NgTuR5CHQI1zL8XCKudrZbA91/w9A97GC6+dXzgAEIHaiOeHUo/Q/3eszDGO1+hC/V1 AY1fPl/L9UrMaj4TEQn+SXmcEbVgG6gNXfnnJFwewJ7rqgkfFoygEj5/yAMVyh9snNs8 J5sQ== X-Received: by 10.68.239.230 with SMTP id vv6mr53328516pbc.34.1388552059967; Tue, 31 Dec 2013 20:54:19 -0800 (PST) Original-Received: by 10.68.99.35 with HTTP; Tue, 31 Dec 2013 20:53:59 -0800 (PST) In-Reply-To: X-detected-operating-system: by eggs.gnu.org: Error: Malformed IPv6 address (bad octet value). X-Received-From: 2607:f8b0:400e:c02::22a X-BeenThere: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.14 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 Original-Sender: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.emacs.help:95221 Archived-At: Emanuel Berg writes: > Rustom Mody writes: > > > LISP is worth learning for a different reason =97 the > > profound enlightenment experience you will have when > > you finally get it. That experience will make you a > > better programmer for the rest of your days, even if > > you never actually use LISP itself a lot. > > To learn Lisp and then to never use it sounds like > something the landed aristocracy could do just before > they get executed by a bunch of revolutionaries. When I was in school I was training for cycling races -- used to get up every morning and 'practice' (which means cycle) for almost an hour. One day my mother discovered through a friend a national level cycling champ. We went to him for advice. "Ok lets see you cycle" the champ asked me. After a minute or two of such checking me out, this was his advice: "Stop your cycling and do weight training. You need to do squats." I protested: "Look! I am not into weight training, I want to be a cyclist!" He shrugged: "Yeah I know. You can follow my advice and come back after 3 weeks of weight training... Or do what you like..." After 3 weeks, I had so much more power in my legs, I did not need to go back and got the prizes I had set out to. So... If you think our field is about technology, the above is irrelevant. If on the other hand you understand that the brain is a muscle, the question will naturally arise: How do I train? Yes as a technology, Lisp is mostly irrelevant, as an ideology its doing great guns. Just look past the fashion-fad names like 'functional programming' Some more on my blog: http://blog.languager.org/2012/10/functional-programming-lost-booty.html