

The Three Temptations Of Meta - coderdude
http://w-shadow.com/blog/2010/12/16/the-three-temptations-of-meta/

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qjz
Not all abstractions are successful (most probably aren't, in fact), but as
long as there are tasks with difficult or tedious low level steps involved,
_meta_ will continue to be an appealing goal.

For example, television aggregated locations (such as theaters) into one
place: the viewer's living room. Cable television aggregated antennas to
deliver better picture quality. Streaming video aggregates time-shifting to
allow programs to be truly watched (and paused) on demand.

We're seeing the same thing with mobile apps, many of which aggregate browser
clicks (Gmail app, YouTube app, etc.).

If you look around, you'll see endless examples of popular abstractions. It's
not an issue of how many there are, but which ones will win over the others.

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dholowiski
Some good things have come from meta tools. I would say that a search engine
(index the Internet and make it searchable) is very meta, but it seems to be
working well for google. How about group buying... All you're doing is
aggregating buyers and sellers. Seems to work well for groupon and all their
clones.

I don't see a problem with building a meta tool, or a meta meta tool. It sure
beats sitting around and watching tv- thats not... Anything. Go build
something useless, I give you permission. It worked out well for Larry and
Sergey.

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dkeskar
All software is meta. Even when it is controlling effectors.

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pasbesoin
I didn't make it all the way to the end (insert irony here), but an initial
reaction is that there's uninformed meta and then there's informed meta.

Or perhaps I should change that to "informing".

A little of either goes a long way. The former, as a sand trap. The latter,
towards insight, efficiency, and pleasure.

I'm suddenly reminded of Larry Wall. Perhaps I might treat "meta" as a
potential offspring of laziness. (E.g. if you don't enjoy repetitive, rote
tasks.)

