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printf("goodbye, Dennis");

economist.com

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Re: printf("goodbye, Dennis");

#61

Post by davidw »

nobody31415 wrote: post #58
bodyfour wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't argue that their ideological bent is pretty strong (and not one I altogether share, really) but the financial and international reporting is consistently superb. Even though I disagree with them often, I always learn something in the process.

it's not like they hide their ideology though - the paper is called the economist! Oddly enough they and The Telegraph (the most conservative UK daily) were the only places with decent science reporting, which is an interesting difference with 'conservative' in the USA

> conservative

The Economist is very free-market, but they are not 'conservatives' in the US sense at all. I think the label that best fits them is the European meaning of "liberal". They support some sort of universal health care, gay marriage, drug legalization, science not based on the bible, and other things that send the right wing in the US into apoplectic fits.

I heartily agree with the recommendation of subscribing.

Re: printf("goodbye, Dennis");

#62

Post by rwmj »

pradocchia wrote: post #48
jfb wrote: post #24

People who don't regularly read The Economist probably ought to. It wears its biases on its sleeve, and is the only place in the English language press to find quality, in-depth coverage of parts of the world other than the Lower East Side and the Isle of Dogs.

Let's not forget their stalwart support of war with Iraq in the lead-up to the 2003 invasion. Well-written obits and cultural pieces are one thing. Propaganda to turn the minds of Anglo-American movers and shakers is quite another.

It's wasn't clear at the time (pre-2003) that it was going to end up as a catastrophe. Furthermore the Economist always mentions now that they supported the invasion -- they've never sought to hide the fact.

Re: printf("goodbye, Dennis");

#63

Post by ema »

sometimes wrote: post #54

Is it wrong to wonder about Dennis' personal life? Did he marry, have kids, take a lover? Like to garden, travel, read? He is such an important and influential figure in the history of computing, but it feels like we know little about him beyond his professional accomplishments.

It is not wrong to wonder about this stuff, but i don't think knowing it will help you.

Re: printf("goodbye, Dennis");

#64

Post by InclinedPlane »

jfb wrote: post #50
ansy wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good journalism in my book attempts to report the truth objectively no matter the subject. By-lines are an important part of that. It puts the author out there so his or her biases and conflicts of interests are not protected. The Economists shields its authors from scrutiny and lends its credibility to who knows who. How do I know if the writer of an article criticizing one industry doesn't have interests in its riv…

I don't believe that objective journalism is either possible or desirable. The best that can be done is a clear statement of bias along with well-researched and cogently argued opinion; you get this in The Guardian and The Economist , but in American journalism, you see the miserable contortions that people put themselves through to provide "objective" reporting on a world that is anything but. In the end, you have t…

Indeed. In the ultimate attainment "objective" journalism is nothing more than performance art. There's nothing wrong with journalism having a perspective, so long as people are aware of it.

Open and honest journalism is achievable, objective journalism is not.

Re: printf("goodbye, Dennis");

#65

Post by bodyfour »

nobody31415 wrote: post #58
bodyfour wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't argue that their ideological bent is pretty strong (and not one I altogether share, really) but the financial and international reporting is consistently superb. Even though I disagree with them often, I always learn something in the process.

it's not like they hide their ideology though - the paper is called the economist! Oddly enough they and The Telegraph (the most conservative UK daily) were the only places with decent science reporting, which is an interesting difference with 'conservative' in the USA

It's also amusing/scary how many U.S. 'conservatives' consider The Economist to be some sort of lefty-pinko rag.

Re: printf("goodbye, Dennis");

#66

Post by eru »

ireadzalot wrote: post #30
waterlesscloud wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've helped drag down the median for about 10 years myself. I wonder if their subscriber income stats aren't heavily bifurcated.

I always felt weird doing this. Almost always I turn to their Obit page when I get a new issue. Glad to know I am not the only one who does it.

I usually start with the funny letter to the editor. (Usually the last letter printed.)

Re: printf("goodbye, Dennis");

#67

Post by eru »

awflick wrote: post #3

Its a bit sad but the obituary is often the best article in the economist. In this case it was a very fitting tribute to a tech hero.

> Its a bit sad but the obituary is often the best article in the economist.

That's not sad. That's actually the case for newspapers in general.

Re: printf("goodbye, Dennis");

#69

Post by johnx123-up »

sometimes wrote: post #54

Is it wrong to wonder about Dennis' personal life? Did he marry, have kids, take a lover? Like to garden, travel, read? He is such an important and influential figure in the history of computing, but it feels like we know little about him beyond his professional accomplishments.

AFAIK, he's never married. He lost his interest in soccer too after sometime. So he's steep geek with some interest to country music.

Re: printf("goodbye, Dennis");

#70

Post by bburky »

luckydude wrote: post #41

As an old dude, been around since uucp was the only way we talked to each other, was on the arpa net when we had the 11th IMP that connected people in real time, I really can't honor Dennis enough. He was the real deal, very quiet, very passionate about what he did, he wrote, both in code and in papers, in a terse way that just got to the point. If you have not gotten copies of the Bell Labs Technical Journals that h…

I hadn't read the Unix papers, but I just tracked down Volume 57 of the Bell System Technical Journal online.

I thought I'd share the link for anyone else interested: http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/bstj/vol57-1978/bstj-vol57-iss...

Now I just need to find the time to read it.

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