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0 pointsNadya10y ago0 comments

So... Randall Munroe's 'Thing Explainer'? I actually purchased this and it is both informative, has a bit of quirky humor in the illustrations, and makes a great learning material.

Knowing the proper name of something is often less important than understanding how it works.

[0] http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0544668251/

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4 comments · 1 top-level

masklinn10y ago· 3 in thread

> Knowing the proper name of something is often less important than understanding how it works.

As far as personal edification and skills go, knowing the proper name of something is pretty much worthless. Only when you have to interact with other flesh-bags does proper naming become a concern.

And even then, "proper naming" can be worse than "improper naming" if it's too abstract or semantically loaded. Consider javascript's promises, could you call them continuation monads? Sure thing. Would it generally be a good idea? If you want nobody to dare come close to it I guess.

[0] which includes yourself-from-the-future for writers or developers I guess

yati10y ago

Totally agreed. However, I've found that learning something new without regards for the actual name for it helps me build a solid, abstract representation in the mind. But like you say, communicating these ideas becomes cumbersome when you don't speak the common language :)

And here's Feynman on the same topic: https://youtu.be/ga_7j72CVlc?t=19

Raphmedia10y ago

> flesh-bags does proper naming become a concern

You mean every day?

masklinn10y ago

No, because you don't attempt to communicate the entirety or your knowledge and understanding every day to every person you encounter.

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