That email is golden. I wish I could write like that. Reminds me of Pulp Fiction where the characters say all of these interesting things which have almost no relevance to the plot... "and scalp rashes are very, very bad" lol
_Why Documentary at Rubyconf 2012, Denver
21–27 of 27 posts
Re: _Why Documentary at Rubyconf 2012, Denver
#22Here is a link to the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47LtM830ocE
Re: _Why Documentary at Rubyconf 2012, Denver
#23Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm supposed to dislike an incredibly prolific and inspiring guy because he took some stuff offline?
No, I just think its an odd contradiction to respect that guy, and simultaneously make a video publicizing the dude. He disappeared himself, and I thought that particular community was good with leaving well enough alone. Especially in light of the reaction I've seen them take when other people have dragged _why back into the limelight after he left. Seems strange. Just a thought.
Oh, you're saying that this isn't respectful of him. I thought you were saying that he is not deserving of respect.
Re: _Why Documentary at Rubyconf 2012, Denver
#24Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's always that way, with creative types. The more they try to just fade back into the woodwork... the more intently people try to grab a little piece of them. Till pretty soon, even more so than for their considerable accomplishments, they become famous for... not wanting to be famous: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grigori_Perelman
I personally love Perelman's story. I think many (most) people have a very difficult time understanding motivations that differ from their own. People are amazed Perelman turned down a Fields medal and a Millennium Prize, they can't fathom any sane person doing that. Similarly, people can't fathom why _why decided to do what he did. I think people are inherently uncomfortable with people who live in a way that appear…
I guess it might be that for some people, but I think a lot of people's feelings about Why are rather different. The thing about Why is that he was insanely helpful and produced a lot of cool stuff. His focus at the time was a project intended to help kids learn to program. So when Why suddenly tore everything down and disappeared, it seemed really incongruous with the way he'd acted up to that point, and people were left wondering … why? It's not that he turned down fame (honestly, he always rejected fame, so big surprise there), but that this incredibly nice and helpful guy acted so violently toward the projects he'd created to make the world a better place. People want to know why, and so they want to know Why.
Re: _Why Documentary at Rubyconf 2012, Denver
#25I saw this documentary at LSRC in Austin.
It covers _why's body of work, interviews people about their thoughts on _why's impact and...sorry if I phrase this wrong, attempts to draw parallels between the stories _why tells in his guide to the series of events that ended in him leaving the community. It doesn't answer the question, but it does go looking for a more full understanding of...well, why.
The guy who made it, when he announced it to the conference and when they screened it, seemed to take it very seriously. I felt it took pains to explore the work and to not invade the privacy of the withdrawn man. As I watched it, I thought it was targeted at people like me who are newcomers. They wanted me to know about this guy who passed through and what he meant to them. It felt oddly like a family gathering talking about a recently passed grandmother.
I got no vibe that this was a major network style drive by or that he was trying to ride the coat tails of a guy who has expressed his desire to be left alone. There was a respect under the whole thing and a labor of love - of the work and the community.
When it was done, I felt like "this is a good place, to be around people who make this and do this". It was a sad send off of a good friend.
I've never met _why. I have learned a lot from him. I think that's the point.
Re: _Why Documentary at Rubyconf 2012, Denver
#26Earlier quoted context omitted.
I personally love Perelman's story. I think many (most) people have a very difficult time understanding motivations that differ from their own. People are amazed Perelman turned down a Fields medal and a Millennium Prize, they can't fathom any sane person doing that. Similarly, people can't fathom why _why decided to do what he did. I think people are inherently uncomfortable with people who live in a way that appear…
I guess it might be that for some people, but I think a lot of people's feelings about Why are rather different. The thing about Why is that he was insanely helpful and produced a lot of cool stuff. His focus at the time was a project intended to help kids learn to program. So when Why suddenly tore everything down and disappeared, it seemed really incongruous with the way he'd acted up to that point, and people were…
True, though I think most people attribute his disappearance to the outing of his real identity [1]. As to why he was so insistent on remaining anonymous, well we could only speculate, but perhaps he just felt a powerful desire to 'control his fate/life', and the forced outing of his true identity, against his wishes, simply showed he was no longer able to do that. Perhaps he felt the community was moving away from what he wanted to see and he no longer wanted to be involved. Speculation abounds :)
Re: _Why Documentary at Rubyconf 2012, Denver
#27A documentary about the guy that just wanted to fade into the sunset. Interesting. That's fine and all, but is the Ruby community still pretending to respect this guy? If so, why are they making a big public video tribute to a guy that not only chose to disappear, but took all his work down with him too?
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