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Quine Relay

github.com

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Re: Quine Relay

#111

Post by cpayne »

gambler wrote: post #61
raldi wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you feel the same way when someone bakes a cake, takes a walk, watches a sporting event, knits a sweater, or writes a poem?

The effort involved in doing this is incomparable with the things you just mentioned. This is nothing like baking a cake, more like spending thousands of dollars to build a life-sized Eiffel Tower out of matchsticks.

It depends on the quality of cake you are eating. There's a massive difference between a chocolate birthday cake for a 4 yr old or Profiteroles http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Profiterole

Re: Quine Relay

#114

Post by msutherl »

gambler wrote: post #55
breadbox wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I also know plenty of people who waste their intellect painting canvases, when they could be advancing the species by doing something practical. Shall we shed a tear for their wasted efforts as well? But of course not. Art is its own justification. And this program, my friends? This is art .

Art that only exists for the sake of existing, without intent to express, explore, or otherwise stimulate human mind - art of that sort is garbage. There are plenty of people who vehemently defend that garbage, but it doesn't make it any less wasteful use of human time and attention. Personally, I will never respect it simply because there was a lot of effort involved.

Unlike the others, I completely agree. Art that does not "express, explore, or otherwise stimulate the human mind"[1] is the definition of boring.

I would however claim that the vast majority of art does stimulate the mind, though it may not stimulate yours without some additional effort. Indeed just about anything in the world is capable of stimulating your mind if you look closely enough at it, to paraphrase John Cage.

[1] ... or, if we take a 'vibrant matter' / 'object oriented ontology' view of the world, stimulate something.

Re: Quine Relay

#115

Post by ilyanep »

scrumper wrote: post #82

I feel awful for pointing this out, but the author spelled Copyright incorrectly in the last line. Fortunately, he can correct it without blowing out his Ascii art by deleting the extra space between '##' and 'Quine'. I'd issue a pull request myself, but it'd be like me putting soy sauce on a piece of Jiro Ono's sushi. I am completely unworthy.

I feel like the fact that you took the time to figure out how to fix it makes you at least somewhat worthy.

Re: Quine Relay

#116

Post by bennyg »

brey wrote: post #54
Sealy wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think he's referring to the relative uselessness of the code. Yes it would have taken a lot of time, talent and intellect to produce but from what I understand is of relatively little use? Can someone correct me if I'm wrong?

you've just described art.

Came to say this, but I could not say it with the brevity you did.

What function is the Mona Lisa accomplishing behind layers of glass, with security guards posted 'round the clock, in a museum in France?

Re: Quine Relay

#117

Post by bennyg »

gambler wrote: post #61
raldi wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you feel the same way when someone bakes a cake, takes a walk, watches a sporting event, knits a sweater, or writes a poem?

The effort involved in doing this is incomparable with the things you just mentioned. This is nothing like baking a cake, more like spending thousands of dollars to build a life-sized Eiffel Tower out of matchsticks.

Who cares about whether a person should build an Eiffel Tower out of matchsticks or go try to solve cancer? Pushing humanity forward is great - and so is finding personal happiness and growth through exploration. Don't knock one or the other; in fact, don't knock any at all. Both are ways to ascribe meaning to this meaningless place.

Re: Quine Relay

#118

Post by shawn-furyan »

wpietri wrote: post #90
hnriot wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

possibly that someone clearly very smart wasted his/her intellect doing this, rather than advancing the species by curing obesity, heart disease and cancer?

If I make a ranked list of all the ways that people spend their time, I cannot imagine a sensible scoring algorithm that puts making a quine relay lower in value than posting an internet comment bitching about somebody making a quine relay.

Very funny. I think it might be possible to come up with a sensible algorithm that yields such a result. If so, it would definitely have $time_spent in a denominator somewhere :)

[edited to improve wording]

Re: Quine Relay

#119

Post by nazgulnarsil »

lifeformed wrote: post #52
hnriot wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

possibly that someone clearly very smart wasted his/her intellect doing this, rather than advancing the species by curing obesity, heart disease and cancer?

Smart people are too burdened with the responsibility to save the world to spend on leisure.

We don't owe you shit, it was like this when we got here.

Re: Quine Relay

#120

Post by fakeer »

danso wrote: post #48

I know we shouldn't care about the source, crazy-insane as he obviously is, but FWIW, the author is Yusuke Endoh, one of the Ruby core members. RubySource had an interview with him here: http://rubysource.com/meet-fifteen-ruby-core-committers/ He lists his "hobby in programming" as: "writing a Quine and enjoying esoteric programming."

Wow! All of them are Japanese.

Ruby is practically made in Japan then. Nice to know this.

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