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From: kfk@ccieng2.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: Incompetence of Pournelle (and others)
Message-ID: <124@ccieng5.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 12-Aug-83 12:44:09 EDT
Article-I.D.: ccieng5.124
Posted: Fri Aug 12 12:44:09 1983
Date-Received: Sun, 14-Aug-83 07:26:22 EDT
Lines: 54

Hear! Hear! on the article describing Pournelle's arrogance in
discussing BASIC versus Pascal.

I really get upset when I see people like Pournelle (who is actually a
good writer) acting like they know scads of things outside their own
area of expertise.  One of the philosophical points which ACM requires
its members to hold (if they can truly require anything other than dues)
is that, when speaking outside one's area of expertise, one must qualify
every opinion or other statement made.  I'm no expert in graphics, but
when someone recently asked me for some information on it, I told them
what I could, *followed by* a disclaimer that I may have problems giving
accurate, complete, unbiased information in the area.

I've lately been having an argument very similar to this with one of
my brothers.  He recently retired from the USAF (he's 40; I'm 23), and
frequently announces his disgust with people who have no experience
but try to take control of situations, as well as his general disdain
with college-educated people (which is ironic in that he is now going
to college himself).  Last week we had a short, *rude* argument on the
merits of Apple 2 computers.  He went into some detail on what he
thinks is good about them.  I attempted (ONLY attempted) to describe
to him what I feel is wrong with them, but with no success.  He ended
the discussion by announcing that I was insulting the intelligence of
those who are completely inexperienced with computers by trying to
make them use something less "simple."  (I should explain my biases
right away: I think the Apple 2 is an overpriced, undervalued piece
of inadequate equipment.  It provides, in my opinion, little utility
for the user, especially in view of the non-standard and sometimes
outdated approaches it takes.  Specifically, it uses the 6502 processor,
which I think is underpowered for most tasks, it has nothing [by
default] except BASIC, and it uses a 40-column [?] screen.)

This is a perfect case of something in which *>I<* have both the
training AND experience (I've been out of college two and a half
years, campers; that's nowhere near infinite experience, but don't
sniff at it too much), but my brother, who has experience AROUND
S/370 computers and has used NO COMPUTERS except the Apple, says that
I am the one insulting other people's intelligence.  (Along these lines,
I would say that moving from S/370s to Apples is like getting your
nose above water after almost drowning.)  After all, just who is
insulting whom?

To make a more general statement: Would everybody (CS people or
otherwise) please make it clear where they get their opinions?  Just
because one has used one member of a set does not make one an
authority on the entire set.

Incidentally, and in closing: Is Pournelle on the net?  If so, would
somebody please write him a note telling him to look into net.flame
for some arguments against him?  (I don't have an address for him,
or I'd send a copy of this to him myself.)

  --Karl Kleinpaste
  ...!seismo!rochester!ritcv!ccieng5!ccieng2!kfk