Subject: Re: less parentheses --> fewer parentheses
From: Erik Naggum <erik@naggum.net>
Date: 2000/08/23
Newsgroups: comp.lang.lisp
Message-ID: <3176055529700707@naggum.net>

* danfm@dartmouth.edu (FM)
| The world is large enough that one shouldn't have to learn from each
| and every know-all one faces.

  That depends very much on _what_ you learn.  I find it odd that you
  should learn exactly what people try to communicate.

| The chance is that, the more one acts like an arrogant bastard, the
| less knowledge he has to offer you.

  How did you arrive at this conclusion?  It is all too human to
  believe that he who has one flaw has them all, but this is not based
  in anything but the wishful thinking of one-dimensional moralists.

| Besides, you did clearly imply teaching in your previous post,
| stating (something to the effect of) that if you condemn those who
| try to teach or correct you, they won't try again to other people.

  There's quite the important distinction between teach and correct.

| Quite frankly, I often take the task of learning quite seriously
| myself, but I never found the grave need to learn from those I
| consider assholes.

  So you think that only nice guys have something to tell you, which
  goes to support my conclusion about your priorities: good relations
  first, then increased knowledge.

  You know, the very essence of the ad hominem argument, which most
  people don't exactly take pride in the way you do, is that you don't
  want to listen to the argument because of the person.  I consider it
  an incredibly unintelligent approach to both people and arguments.
  I'd rather dismiss the person for his arguments any day.

| I won't try to elaborate everything here, but there's a bit more to
| that. The guy you replied to didn't per se "hate" or condemn the
| competence, just an arrogant display of such.

  As I have belabored, if you can't learn from the harsh parts of
  life, what do you expect to learn from the soft and kind?

| I must say that I agree with most of the things on your pages,
| though I don't get as annoyed by incompetence as you do.

  I guess it depends on the degree to which you waste otherwise
  valuable time and money because of incompetence.

#:Erik
-- 
  If this is not what you expected, please alter your expectations.