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JARRING

                                              December 17, 2005
                                              April     8, 2007

   The fad for "postmodernism"
   and "object-oriented programming"
   developed around the same time.

   My one-sentence review of both:

   "There's a lot of jargon here           THE_SO_CALLED_HOAX
   chasing a small number of ideas."

   Once you understand what they're getting
   at, it just doesn't seem like that big
   a deal.  So why the mystification?


      The invention of new terminology is supposed
      to coincide with a need to handle new concepts.

      A group of experts and
      a group of con-artists          Or: a group of
      looks the same at first         the conned.
      glance.
                                           Really the label
      There's a display of abstruse,       "con-artists" probably
      unfamiliar jargon...  often a        misrepresents the motives.
      pose of superiority, a claim
      to inside knowledge.                    A more interesting social
                                              model is "the conned",
         To evaluate the claims               or "the self-deluded"...
         of this sub-culture,
         one must engage on a                    It's difficult to go
         long process of study,                  through such a process
         becoming deeply familiar                and retain any sense
         with the jargon in-play,                of distance from the
         developing some facility                subject matter...
         in the subject matter.
                                                 By definition, gaining
            It also may take                     the facility is a matter
            prolonged social                     of immersion in another
            exposure and                         intellectual framework...
            involvement with                     and also in a sub-culture
            the peer group.                      of intellectuals.



                        The social dynamic:

                        An intellectual established in some
                        other field will not have the time
                        or energy to dedicate to mastering
                        this New Discipline.

                        If they express skepticism
                        about it, they leave themselves
                        open to attack: how dare they
                        speak from ignorance?

                        Ah, the old guard often lacks the
                        mental flexibility needed to grasp
                        the new paradigm.

                        So then, is the new paradigm
                        then the province of the young?
                        The proponents of this New Paradigm,
                        will then begin attempting to
                        teach it to the young students
                        under their direction.

                        But: we are not usually in the
                        habit of turning the minds of
                        impressionable undergrads over
                        to the care of religious fanatics.

                        The Curriculum has a presumption of
                        authority, an acceptance by the
                        community of scholars, perhaps even
                        some justification for considering
                        it The Truth.

                            The standard is supposed to
                            be a little tighter than
                            "This is the latest thing!",
                            or "I'm a believer!".


              And any group that succeeds in presenting a
              good front, and talking a good line, without
              being able to deliver any core of insight...

                 They're living on borrowed time,
                 an "exposé" waiting to happen.


                     Intellectual groups attain status
                     by convincing people outside the
                     group of their own inferiority.

                     If it later seems unjustified,
                     it's very easy for that sense of
                     inferiority to turn into a sense
                     of resentment.



Examples:

Famously: the "post-modern"/
"critical theory" crowd.              THE_SO_CALLED_HOAX

Possibly: the "psychoanalysis"
fad, in particular the Freudians.

Nearly every "programming                   COMPUTER_SCIENCE_PROOF
methodology"
                            You don't get the virtues of
                            Object-Oriented Programming?
                            Ah, yes, the old guard is so
                            lacking in mental flexibility.

                                        But don't you see
                                        why self-modifying
A suspicion has been growing            code is such a
of late that "string theory"            powerful technique?
is an example of this syndrome          Ah, you have not yet
in the world of physics.                truly grapsed functional
                                        programming.

     Children of the 80s:

     Postmodernism
     Object-Oriented Programming
     String Theory

         Coincidence?


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