

Some perspective on a destroyed career - lisper
http://rondam.blogspot.com/2009/04/some-perspective-on-destroyed-career.html

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10ren
> I've never learned Perl, but I've never learned how to run the deep fryer at
> a McDonalds either.

I think it is much less important which language you use, than what you create
with it. Otherwise you have a shed full of brilliant tools that have never
been used.

I've noticed that the people who actually create things tend to be less
dogmatic about languages.

~~~
triplefox
There is a parallel to this in music called Gear Acquisition Syndrome; when
you crave new gear in hopes of stoking inspiration or improving your sound,
even when this is a dubious proposition at best.

People with too much GAS tend to be much like language weenies. They will go
to absurd lengths to defend the "pure/fat/warm/etc. sound" of their favorites,
an ultimately pointless endeavor considering that after a certain minimum of
instrument quality, playstyle and post processing effects will both have far
more impact.

~~~
jonas_b
I think this is closely related to ones identity and many people bring some
artifact very close to their hart just to be get a feeling of belonging.

To talk a little about myself, I'm a die hard libertarian, and I've spent
countless hours being quietly angry about all the collectivists out there that
wants to ruin our planet. Recently I've noticed though, that this rock-solid
conviction of the superiority of a libertarian society isn't really productive
for me in my relationships with others, and made it harder for me to
intellectually appreciate good ideas from people who doesn't share my view.

I think the reason for this rigidity in my beliefs was that in my late teens,
I felt as if I didn't belong anywhere, and getting an ideology to die for gave
me a (false) sense of belonging.

I can't speak for this Lisp guy or the musicians but I can only assume that we
perhaps share some similarities.

~~~
blahblahblah
I placed the artifact close to my hart. It looked at me with a puzzled
expression, then shook its antlers side to side before bowing its head once
again to chew on the blades of grass. I felt a sense of belonging.

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kqr2
Here's a little writeup on some ex-googlers including Ron Garret:

<http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-184506.html>

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patrickg-zill
A "destroyed career" after he made a tidy living at NASA, joined Google and
got paid well, and is now doing VC?

I wish my career were similarly "destroyed".

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michaelneale
I am confused - his "productivity" is being able to churn out academic papers
of quality - but I am not sure what that has to do with a programming language
(are the papers about some concrete application?).

~~~
scott_s
Yes, take a look at the list:
[http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu/cis?q=erann+gat+or+e+gat&sub...](http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu/cis?q=erann+gat+or+e+gat&submit=Search+Citations&cs=1)

He implemented something at NASA, then wrote a paper about it.

(And oddly enough, I just realized he got his PhD from the same department I'm
in.)

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c00p3r
There are very different meanings about 'knowing a language'. Some people
think that they know some language while actually they were just memorized
several hundred of common sentences. Other people claims that they know some
language, because they can read with permanent use of a dictionary, other
think that they are good, while they did not bother to learn correct
pronunciation, and so on.

I think it is very hard to know more than two languages well, especially such
different like western and eastern ones.

I have a dream, for example, to learn Japanese language, because I'm an anime
fan, but I'm also realizing that this is almost impossible for me. Even my
very weak English took several years of learning, because learning means
practice, and this process is very slow. And if language is really difficult,
like the Sanskrit it is impossible for sure.

So, when someone claims that he know some language, I assume that he should
have at least 5 years of continuous practice, or it is just an empty claim.

~~~
maneesh
It definitely does not take that long to become conversationally fluent,
especially for related languages (english/spanish/italian/french, etc). In a
few months of daily, hardcore practice with western languages, you can become
definitely conversationally fluent (speaking and understanding w/out any
problems). With eastern languages it might take longer---but it doesn't take
as long as you think if you are sufficiently motivated.

I speak italian, portuguese, spanish, and english, and will be studying hindi
later this year

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visitor4rmindia
So, if I get this right, the post on a "destroyed career" was pure fiction?
Marketing to push a point of view?

It seems a bit dishonest to me.

