[MD] The Greeks?

[Krimel]

[Mary Replies] 
Not Bo-esque so much as MoQ-esque.  Do you buy things based on the quality
of the packaging or that of the contents?

[Krimel]
There is not much agreement that I can see on what MoQ-esque even looks
like. But sometime I buying things for the contents and sometimes because of
the packaging. It depends on what I am buying and why.

> [Krimel]
> I think the "level" is the collection of all the code
> regardless of whether or not it even works all that really matter for
> it to belong to the "level" is that it can be accessed.
> 
[Mary Replies] 
You are in good company then.  This is what most people think.

[Krimel]
I would like to think so and I may have missed something, I certainly hope
so, but I don't recall anyone here saying that or even commenting one way or
another on it the several times I have.

> [Krimel]
> In fact I think the snippets of useful code that
> Pirsig provided have already been replaced by more powerful and
> efficient programmers.
> 
[Mary Replies] 
Such as?

[Krimel]
Originally I liked what Pirsig said about evolution for example but closer
reading showed it to be really flawed. Better programmers in that area
should have been well known to Pirsig and include Dawkin, Gould and Wilson
to mention a few. But Dawkins especially when it comes to extending
evolutionary thinking outside of biology.

Pirsig showed glimpses of insight into the importance of randomness and
random access but fumbles there as well. Better programmers there would
include Shannon who predates all of Pirsig's writing but was mostly known
only to specialists at the time, Pirgonine and Mandelbrot for experts and
Gleick for the rest of us.

He seemed on the right track with his talk about Taoism but you can't really
improve on Lao Tsu although Watts, Capra and Hoff take a good stab at show
why you ought to read the master.

When I first read ZMM in '75 I thought his analysis of Hume and Kant was
good. There are many accounts that are much better though not necessarily
more recent Durrant and Russell of course and from what Matt and Steve say I
suspect Rorty but I haven't gotten around to him so I keep shut on that one.
BTW, just as a tackey aside even I can tell that dmb hasn't read Rorty
either he just doesn't have the sense to keep quiet about it.

Pirsig has lots to say about mental illness for more and better insight
there I would recommend the DSM-IV.

For his thoughts on psychology in general anything and everything by Malcom
Gladwell and for better insight into economics Dan Ariely. Both of these
guys gave TED talks and for better programming in general just about anyone
who has ever given a TED talk. www.ted.com