From: Dave Long (dl@silcom.com)
Date: Mon Oct 02 2000 - 09:06:54 PDT
> Hey now! I think SK etc. combinators are great theoretical and
> mathematical tools, and might even be useful if you were building
> languages, but I'd HATE to actually program directly using them as
> the predominant abstractions.
I believe the current legal treatment of
marriage to be like VB: elitists may not
care for it, but it works, one can get a
decent amount of stuff done, and so it's
a pretty good fit for most.
I think you are arguing that the current
legal treatment of marriage is more like
INTERCAL: sure, one can work in it, but
there are much better ways to accomplish
what one wants to do.
-however-
I think that using game theory and some
negotiated contracts to bind individuals
is a great theoretical tool, and might
even be useful if you were analyzing a
system of laws and mores, but I'd HATE
to actually live in a society directly
using them as predominant abstractions.
I believe there to be both moral and
efficiency arguments for this stance,
but I'm not sure to what degree they
are both rationalizations of choices
based on gut feel.
-Dave
--GKC: > I believe what really happens in history is this: > the old man is always wrong; and the young people > are always wrong about what is wrong with him. The > practical form it takes is this: that, while the old > man may stand by some stupid custom, the young man > always attacks it with some theory that turns out to > be equally stupid.
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