Re: if vs. when vs. and: style question

[Rusi <rustompmody@gmail.com>]

On Tuesday, March 31, 2015 at 10:15:45 PM UTC+5:30, Emanuel Berg wrote:
> Rusi writes:
> 
> > I wrote: Hey! Emacs (Elisp) is civilized!
> > followed by definitions of ...
> 
> Just because something is more specific, supposedly
> advanced (in isolation), and possible to do (of course
> it is), it doesn't mean it is a good idea.
> 
> Fore example: HTML mails instead of ASCII ditto, LaTeX
> homepages (i.e., PDF files) vs. HTML, GUIs vs. CLI,
> the mouse vs. the keyboard - all more recent,
> supposedly more advanced methods, all possible, and
> realized long ago.
> 
> Question: But then, why do so many people still don't
> like them, and won't use them?
> 
> Answer: If you keep it simple, stick to the basics,
> then the limit is on you - and, if you master the
> basics (which you never do, completely, which is
> natural, and a good thing), then the *sky* is the
> limit. But: if you master the GUI, the GUI is
> the limit!
> 
> This is why the people who use the basic, simple, but
> combinable stuff are much better at computers, because
> they don't put chains on themselves to crop their
> creativity, activity, and energy. Even tho the basic
> stuff is more difficult day one, very soon the
> specific-stuff-people will hit the ceiling, a ceiling
> which doesn't exist for the basic-stuff-people - their
> ceiling is their own dedication and energy, and as
> long as they have that, they are on an
> upward trajectory.
> 

Ok So far...

After all unicode is TEXT (in 2015) as ASCII was in the last century.
And text is universal as unixers have known for half a century¹...

IOW Unicode is NOT
-- selling one's shirt (and soul) to a corp peddling a word-processing software
-- Nor is it about learning some arcane coding system
   where if one wants x₀ we have to write something ugly like $x_0$
   I want x₀ I have x₀ I want λ α Δ I have λ α Δ, as simple as that
   
The only cost is input methods.
For which as I already pointed out emacs tex-input method puts the cost of
the string "λ α Δ" at "\lambda \alpha \Delta"
IOW the lambda/alpha/Delta is what one would type anyway.
The extra backslash costs about as much as a shift costs to capitalize.

And tex input method is the more clumsy.
If you use greek a hell of a lot you can use greek keyboard.
After that δ Δ cost EXACTLY the same as the English d D
apart from the C-\ needed to switch

> Just look: You already discuss what chars are
> included, what chars should be included, and so on.
> So the limitation is what chars you can and can not
> print?! That is bizarre!

I have no idea what you are saying here…


--------------
¹ Well not strictly true; see http://blog.languager.org/2014/04/unicode-and-unix-assumption.html