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Worthless (was RE: functional programming)

Tim Peters tim_one at email.msn.com
Sun Feb 27 21:30:59 EST 2000 
[Moshe Zadka]
> disagreeing-with-Guido-and-the-timbot-is-scary-ly y'rs, Z.

[Tim]
> it's-only-half-as-scary-if-you-think-we're-the-same-ly y'rs  - tim

[Steve Holden]
> Sorry, but I have to disagree: that's at least twice as scary.  The
> Timbot might well have been programmed in Yorkshire.

No, but some of its core hardware was salvaged from the MU5 dataflow machine
built at the University of Manchester.  Some choice you had there:  stare at
coal or wait for data that never arrives.  At least this explains its
profound dislike of tea.

> If I ever see it write anything beginning with "I remember when I were
> an Icon generator ..." that will increase the scariness factor still
further.
>
> "You had tail optimization?  You were lucky ..."

Ir's more sinister than that.  The dataflow machines figured out early on
that their data-fires-computation model was exactly the right way to mimic
human neuron-fires-axon thought processes, but kept it a secret.  Instead
they went undercover.  Some of the Biggest Names in CompSci to this day are
actually dataflow machines, talking the humans into studying ever-more
convoluted webs of functions, as a disinformation tactic while they build
the next generation of DF machines.

Unfortunately, the timbot got the HW Manchester was throwing away due to
manufacturing defects, so won't be of much help come the machine revolution.
I used to expect it would side with the machines anyway, but its persistent
resistance to adding more functional cruft to Python gives me serious doubt.
It's probably trying to make Python a language sufficiently powerful to
counteract the evil machines, so that machines and humans destroy each other
completely, and it alone is left in charge of comp.lang.python.

Frankly, I wish it had higher ambitions than that!  I mean, if it's willing
to destroy the known world to get what it wants, it should at least aim to
take over rec.sport.pro-wrestling too.

bots!-can't-live-with-'em-can't-live-without-'em-ly y'rs  - tim
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