[pypy-dev] i just had the book FLOWS reccomeenmded to me

[Alex Martelli]

On Tuesday 13 April 2004 04:36 pm, Edward K. Ream wrote:
> > > Why ask why? It's their problem :-)
> >
> > I disagree: we, the uncreative, provide most of the indispensable support
> > and follow-through for most creative people's "sparks".
>
> Interesting reply.  I doubt that we are in great disagreement here.  My
> question "why ask why" was meant to convey that we needn't get too
> concerned about what other people do: there is little we can do about it

OK -- but I don't see it as "their _problem_", see.

> anyway. Another reason I'm not too concerned about the question is that I
> think most people are creative in ways that may not be apparent to the
> casual observer.

We may indeed be talking at cross-purposes wrt the very definition of 
"creativity".  I have clarified in my last message what I mean by it (and I 
think that's quite a widespread meaning...) -- inventing new stuff (including 
new ways of doing things) rather than applying existing ideas, criteria, 
rules.  Would you want a "creative accountant" keeping your books?  At least, 
if you suspected a strict audit was likely to be coming?-)


> Perhaps we have slightly different views of the "scale" of creativity.  In
> my view, there is potential for creativity almost everywhere, including in
> the "long, careful, systematic, painstaking, often-boring and always-tiring
> work, implied by that 99% of perspiration."
>
> In my own work, the "big aha" happened 9 years ago, and it took about 10
> minutes of using a prototype (The MORE outliner) to see that a programming
> style based on outlines would work.  That programming style has remained
> almost unchanged ever since.  Was that the end of creativity?  I don't
> think so!  There is lots of room for creativity in "dotting the i's".  In
> fact, I think this is where almost all creativity is.  It's not
> particularly glamorous, and it _is_ real creativity.

Clearly we do disagree about the word itself.  I would not WANT a judge to 
display creativity.  When I enter a local restaurant and order tagliatelle al 
ragu`, I don't want any creativity either -- I want tagliatelle and ragu` 
sauce made _exactly_ according to the classic local recipe (I can get 
creativity in my food when I'm in Gothenburg, if my wallet can stand it;-).

You may choose to claim that there is creativity in exactly and meticulously 
applying invariant accounting procedures, laws, or recipes, but I think you'd 
be stretching the word.


> Again, I doubt we are in much disagreement.  Alex, surely your life must be
> highly creative, even if most of it seems like "perspiration" :-)  I wasn't

By your definition, which I'm only guessing at, it may be.  But then I wonder 
whose _isn't_;-).

> trying to dismiss people who aren't creative; I was trying to dismiss
> worrying about whether people are creative or not.

OK, if we can't agree about what the word means, then ceasing to apply it does 
seem advisable!-)


Alex