UNIX as literature, and the freedom that it preserves

[newbie~wan]

A very good read:
Unix as literature

I especially like the point that he makes about the steep learning curve, and the huge rewards it reaps. I think this applies to economics and politics as well. Post your thoughts.

[caddmannq]

Good article.

I'm just a UNIX newbie, and likely to remain so for a loooong time. But I run a command line app all the time, and syntax and manuals do not scare me.

Yet, if you wanted to ward off a social vampire these days, give them a PC without a mouse.

Or just hold a book to their face

Well written article. Before 1974 or so when handheld digital (Texas Instruments with red LEDs) calculators first came out, we used to do all computations using a slide rule, use log tables and so on or in the head.

I remember within a year of calculators becoming popular, people stopped using their brains. Just stopped. Even simple multiplications needed a calculator.

Give people an easier way to do anything and they forget the hard way.

Guess the GUI sounded the deathknell for UNIX as a mainstream operating system for the masses. The sheer tediousness of commands and the intimidating "dos-like" environment couldn't compete with windows "prettiness" except for the die hards.

[caddmannq]

Hey! I retired my fancy Picket Dual-Base Powerlog slipstick for one of those TI SR-50's!

It put to rest a lot of suspicious glances from my philosophy professor, as I was the only one in his lecture using a big yellow aluminum sliderule. I'm sure he wanted to ask me WHY I needed a slide rule in Philosophy 101, but he never surrendered to that curiosity. Smart guy.

[Redwolf]

The theory is that now that peple don't have to remember simple multiplication tables, they can work on more advanced stuff. In practice, that really doesn't happen, but I guess we'll have to see what the next generation has in store.

If you don't actually work out a differential equation from first principles but use tables and plug in values, you can never understand the true power and potential of these equations in solving engineering/mathematical problems.

I think I learnt more about a PC in 1993-94 (386, DOS) than today on a PIII with XP.

Nothing beats doing it in the head.

[capybara]

well, dont forget , the fastest - growing OS in the world
(linux) is unix-compliant....every single linux command is a
unix command also.

[Redwolf]

Yeah, I agree with you there shahani

But then agian, I think latin is easy because I also learned some spanish. It's a common ground. So it is with old and new computers.

[newbie~wan]

Originally posted by Redwolf
The theory is that now that peple don't have to remember simple multiplication tables, they can work on more advanced stuff.

THis is one of Eric Raymond's "principles of hackers". They believe that you shouldn't have to "reinvent the wheel". In other words, no problem should have to be solved twice. I agree that this is effective use of human intelligence, you just have to make TOTALLY sure that all solved problems and past knowledge is well documented and secure from destruction. If we ever forgot where we came from, it might all be for nothing.