Please make sure to also point them at the bit near the beginning of the book that says that everything in it is only a guideline, and should be ignored if you know better. | [reply] |
Whether I point that out to them depends on their Perl skills and their personality.
I doubt that an (argumentative) Perl newbie is likely to "know better" than Tom Christiansen and Damian Conway on the complex issue of Perl prototypes.
Unfortunately, as Beth once noted:
In the late 1990's Justin Kruger and David Dunning did a series
of studies demonstrating that the less skillful had a tendency
to overrate their abilities and fail to recognize expertise in others.
And I really don't want to encourage debate with people like this. :)
Update: The wayback machine url for this historic argumentative bulletin board exchange seems to intermittently fail, so I'll embed bk's famous quote here. This classic quote, the inspiration for Acme::USIG, is from "bk" to davorg after davorg had the temerity to suggest that starting Perl scripts with use strict was a good idea:
No,but its true-- strict really does suck. I hate it. Its gay. Dont tell me ehat to do. And nobody wants your to be back, either.
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[d/l] |
Surely you occasionally land a fish worthy of deeper recommendations once they inquire?
Cheers,
Matt | [reply] |
Yes, and accordingly I thank liverpole for re-posting this excellent and historic tchrist article.
Maybe I've become worn down by the relentless drive to "get it done fast, no time for reading" mentality that seems to be becoming more commonplace nowadays. People asking where is the "business value" in mastering Perl subtleties and intricacies in depth. Sadly, it is only rarely I come across a youngster with enough passion to read the tchrist article above. It happened just the other day though, with a new graduate. :)
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I'm no "youngster", and I like to read. I'm fascinated by Perl's details. But I've never made it to the end of that article.
At the severe risk of being the pot: 'e don' arf go on!
To his credit, "Far more" is absolute truth.
Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error.
"Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority".
In the absence of evidence, opinion is indistinguishable from prejudice.
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It seems to me that if they are naturally curious and enthusiastic about what they're learning, they will find some way to learn about it regardless of deadlines, policies, and frenetic environments.
Accordingly, keep some red meat around to toss their way whenever they appear to be hungry.
The alternative, telling them to stop wasting their time, causes more harm than good and probably will be ignored.
(speaking in general terms, not specifically about you or your workplace)
Cheers,
Matt
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