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0 pointszoogeny1y ago0 comments

Ah, now we're at the dictionary definition level. So let's check Google:

    Inevitable:
          as is certain to happen; unavoidably.
       informal
          as one would expect; predictably.
          "inevitably, the phone started to ring just as we sat down"

Which interpretation of the word is "good faith" considering the rest of my post? If I said "If you drink and drive you will inevitably get into an accident" - would you argue against that statement? Would you argue with Google and say "I have sat down before and the phone didn't ring"?

It is Hacker News policy and just good internet etiquette to argue with good faith in mind. I find it hard to believe you could have read my entire post and come away with the belief of absolutism.

edit: Just to add to this, your interpretation assumes I think Django (the Python web application framework) will unavoidably be rewritten in a lower level language. And Ruby on Rails will unavoidably be rewritten. Do you believe that is what I was saying? Do you believe that I actually believe that?

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throwitaway11231y ago

I wrote 362 words on why language rewrites are a faulty indicator of language quality with multiple examples and anecdotes, and you hyper-fixated on the very first sentence of my comment, instead of addressing the substance of my claim. In what alternate universe is that a good faith argument? If you were truly arguing in good faith you'd restate your position in whichever way you'd like your argument represented, and then proceed to respond to something besides the first sentence. Regardless of how strongly or weakly you believe that "native representations win out", my argument about misusing language rewrite anecdata still stands, and it would have been far more productive to respond to that point.

> If I said "If you drink and drive you will inevitably get into an accident" - would you argue against that statement?

If we were having a discussion about automobile safety and you wrote several hundred words about why a specific type of accident isn't indicative of a larger trend, I wouldn't respond by cherry picking the first sentence of your comment, and quoting Google definitions about a phone ringing.

zoogenyOP1y ago

You said: "Inevitable means impossible to evade. That's about as close to a black and white statement as possible."

I used Google to point out that your argument, which hinged on your definition of what the word "inevitable" means is the narrowest possible interpretation of my statement. An interpretation so narrow that it indicates you are arguing in bad faith, which I believe to be the case. You are accusing me of making an argument that I did not make by accusing me of not understanding what a word means. You are wrong on both accounts as demonstrated.

The only person thinking in black in white is the figment of me in your imagination. I've re-read the argument chain and I'm happy leaving my point where it is. I don't think your points, starting with your attempt at a counter example with Prisma, nor your exceptional compiler argument, nor any of the other points you have tried support your case.

throwitaway11231y ago

> which hinged on your definition of what the word "inevitable" means is the narrowest possible interpretation of my statement.

My argument does not hinge upon the definition of the word inevitable. You originally said "I mean, I can't think of a time a high profile project written in a lower level representation got ported to a higher level language."

I gave a relatively thorough accounting of why you've observed this, and why it doesn't indicate what you believe it to indicate here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43339297

Instead of addressing the substance of the argument you focused on this introductory sentence: "I'd like to address your larger point which seems to be that all greenfield projects are necessarily best suited to low level languages."

Regardless of how narrowly or widely you want me to interpret your stance, my point is that the data you're using to form your opinion (rewrites from higher to lower level languages) does not support any variation of your argument. You "can't think of a time a high profile project written in a lower level representation got ported to a higher level language" because developers tend to be more hesitant about reaching for lower level languages (due to the higher barrier to entry), and therefore are less likely to misuse them in the wrong problem domain.

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throwitaway11231y ago

> If I said "If you drink and drive you will inevitably get into an accident" - would you argue against that statement?

zoogenyOP1y ago

You said: "Inevitable means impossible to evade. That's about as close to a black and white statement as possible."

throwitaway11231y ago

> which hinged on your definition of what the word "inevitable" means is the narrowest possible interpretation of my statement.

I gave a relatively thorough accounting of why you've observed this, and why it doesn't indicate what you believe it to indicate here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43339297

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