181–190 of 213 posts
For me the most important point is the simplest: that learning things should be fun. We're too serious about lots of things, making it fun not only makes the process more enjoyable - it's more effective too.
I've always felt this was a singular achievement, one which perfectly captured the spirit of its author, the community he inhabited, and a particular zeitgeist in programming and on the internet. The need for various other authors to attempt to replicate it for other languages by creating rambling, twee books with wacky titles and comic characters of their own, I've frankly found a bit sad and underwhelming. It's a b…
This about sums up most Monty Python and Rick & Morty references as well. A lot of nerd/hacker culture falls into this kind of recognition of unique humor and wit, then squeezing every little drop of joy out of it until it's as empty as a Garfield cartoon.
Or maybe they truly enjoy it, and you're also witnessing the lucky 10,000 effect (https://xkcd.com/1053/)? I mean, not to be insulting, but talk about humorless . . .
I learnt ruby reading books, going through the koans, the rails turorial from M. Hartl... But I could never ever understand the poignant guide to ruby. I mean, I got paid to write ruby for several years so I obviously learnt the language, but I never understood what Why’s book was about or how it could teach me ruby. Just completely went « whoosh! » over my head at the time. And it still does.
Ruby is an appealing language for sure , but is it worth learning it in 2020, with the intention of getting paid for one’s work? It is an honest question and in no way am i trashing the language. Just curious what others have to say about it
Shopify (along with its millions of shops) is probably the biggest user of Rails (with Ruby) in production. Aside from them, not sure who uses Ruby at that scale.
Every time this book is mentioned, I feel like a moron. I learnt ruby reading books, going through the koans, the rails turorial from M. Hartl... But I could never ever understand the poignant guide to ruby. I mean, I got paid to write ruby for several years so I obviously learnt the language, but I never understood what Why’s book was about or how it could teach me ruby. Just completely went « whoosh! » over my head…
Admitting you don't know or understand is the first step to knowledge. And this may not be a shortcoming on your end - many Great Books of literature are well-known to be good enough that you get something out of them upon each reading, hence those lists of "ten books you'd take to a deserted island."
Perhaps there are technical works like that, and this is one of them? Not arguing for obfuscation, just that some concepts don't boil down easily into bite sized chunks, and very often those are the most valuable.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Where did he go? I know he likes anonymity, but it's really sad that he just left.
My understanding is that he burned out and had to take himself offline. He used to be involved in quite a bit (also see Hackety Hack), and it can be really exhausting for some people. I'm hopeful that he found the balance that he needed, and glad for all the contributions he made along the way.
Imagine! The guy was both an insanely productive programmer and Ruby evangelist. He gave more to the community than anyone could repay. And what did he ask for in return? He asked to be the Lone Ranger.
All he wanted was anonymity. He wanted to be the masked hero who rides in, does a bunch of good, and then gallops off before anyone has had a chance to thank him. He was an eccentric, a romantic. That romantic eccentric was a benefactor who asked basically nothing in return.
And some nobody decided it would be fun to pull off the mask. Who was that? We'd have to look him up to know his name. He ruined it for _why and for the rest of the Ruby community. Why? What for?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Where did he go? I know he likes anonymity, but it's really sad that he just left.
My understanding is that he burned out and had to take himself offline. He used to be involved in quite a bit (also see Hackety Hack), and it can be really exhausting for some people. I'm hopeful that he found the balance that he needed, and glad for all the contributions he made along the way.
Every time this book is mentioned, I feel like a moron. I learnt ruby reading books, going through the koans, the rails turorial from M. Hartl... But I could never ever understand the poignant guide to ruby. I mean, I got paid to write ruby for several years so I obviously learnt the language, but I never understood what Why’s book was about or how it could teach me ruby. Just completely went « whoosh! » over my head…
> Every time this book is mentioned, I feel like a moron. Admitting you don't know or understand is the first step to knowledge. And this may not be a shortcoming on your end - many Great Books of literature are well-known to be good enough that you get something out of them upon each reading, hence those lists of "ten books you'd take to a deserted island." Perhaps there are technical works like that, and this is on…
To me, it’s a very convoluted way to learn ruby with a ton of irrelevant comic strips and pop culture references I don’t get that just add to the sizable cognitive load of learning a new language.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Every time this book is mentioned, I feel like a moron. Admitting you don't know or understand is the first step to knowledge. And this may not be a shortcoming on your end - many Great Books of literature are well-known to be good enough that you get something out of them upon each reading, hence those lists of "ten books you'd take to a deserted island." Perhaps there are technical works like that, and this is on…
Maybe. I just wish I could see what people see in this book, at least out of curiosity. To me, it’s a very convoluted way to learn ruby with a ton of irrelevant comic strips and pop culture references I don’t get that just add to the sizable cognitive load of learning a new language.
But, people I respect love it, so I guess it's just different strokes for different folks, and that's perfectly fine.