Whether you are talking about uncertainty or non-determinism as it relates to philosophy or computer science doesn't seem to really matter. What matters is that you have an idea, a vision if you will, of where you are wanting to go; a firm grasp on where you are now; and a solid plan on how to get from point A to point B. Both uncertainty and non-determinism are anathama to solid development (IMHO). Even the most cloudy of visions can be clarified by clear intermediate goals that take you toward the cloud. The closer you get to the cloud, the more the mists separate; sometimes into more than one cloud; sometimes not.
Bottom line - plan the work; work the plan. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Gregory Woodhouse Sent: Wednesday, July 13, 2005 8:05 AM To: hardhats-members@lists.sourceforge.net Subject: [Hardhats-members] philosophy??? I wonder if my post last night emphasizing the difference between uncertainty and non-determinism (and the similarities which I think tend to go unnoticed) wasn't a might too philosophical. It reminds me of a time a week or so ago when I was sitting in a cafe reading a book about provability and a woman started a conversation with me (it turned out that she was a philosophy student at UC Berkeley). Immediately, I could see the look in her friend's face: "Oh no! Not again!" Ever since then, I've been wondering if some formal training in philosophy might, perhaps ironically, turn out to provide useful background for parts of computer science, if not software development. As strange as that sounds, I believe that thinking about the nature of the task of developing software really can help to make one a better programmer. I can hear it now: This guy is bonkers! Maybe so, but as a simple example, one question we would do well to ask ourselves a little more often is, What am I REALLY doing here? Basic design questions, such as whether a variable pointer (or multiple inheritance) is the right way to solve a given problem often hinge on the answer to a question such as this. and theoretical as it may seem early on, it doesn't take much time trying to support or enhance the code you've written before it becomes clear that the question was really a practical one, after all. === Gregory Woodhouse [EMAIL PROTECTED] "Design quality doesn't ensure success, but design failure can ensure failure." --Kent Beck ------------------------------------------------------- This SF.Net email is sponsored by the 'Do More With Dual!' webinar happening July 14 at 8am PDT/11am EDT. We invite you to explore the latest in dual core and dual graphics technology at this free one hour event hosted by HP, AMD, and NVIDIA. To register visit http://www.hp.com/go/dualwebinar _______________________________________________ Hardhats-members mailing list Hardhats-members@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/hardhats-members ------------------------------------------------------- This SF.Net email is sponsored by the 'Do More With Dual!' webinar happening July 14 at 8am PDT/11am EDT. We invite you to explore the latest in dual core and dual graphics technology at this free one hour event hosted by HP, AMD, and NVIDIA. To register visit http://www.hp.com/go/dualwebinar _______________________________________________ Hardhats-members mailing list Hardhats-members@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/hardhats-members
