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About automated tools by Commander Tansin A. Darcos 06/20/2013, 2:25pm PDT
Ice Cream Jonsey wrote:

Cannibal Dave wrote:

How did it happen? It scares me. Does it bother you that you do nothing productive to help your fellow man?


He really did help me by making that maze creator.


People sometimes forget this. Computerized tools make those who use them more productive. Better tools increase what you can do. The Apple II sold huge numbers of copies because of Visicalc, it allowed a bookkeeper or accountant to do things that were extremely difficult to do, or impossible to do in a short period of time, possible or even easy. Before spreadsheet programs, creating a spreadsheet showing 10 or 20 counts and subtotals by hand on a page could take a whole day; now you can do the same thing in minutes, and know it's right. (Provided you use it correctly; it won't turn an incompetent into someone who is competent but it can reduce the errors they otherwise would make.)

Want to make the equivalent of a painting or image? A paint program can allow you to do that in minutes even if you're 3 years old. Doesn't necessarily mean it's any better than what you could do with paper and watercolor, but it is a hell of a lot easier to do and you don't have to clean up a mess afterward.

Word processing. Every so often when I write something, I look back and wonder how people were able to write huge tomes of material back when any writing was manual, by hand. Shakespeare. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Jack London. They did so much with such poor quality tools; quill pens, pencils and they didn't even have typewriters! Now, even the weakest writer can at least have neat, formatted clean copy and every word spelled correctly, provided they bother to use the built-in tools. They won't make a bad writer any better but they take a tremendous amount of the grunt work away.

And, as I kind of hinted, automated tools act as a "virtuous circle," the inverse of a "vicious circle." When you can use automated tools to make other automated tools, productivity goes up not linearly, but exponentially. A programmer with a high-level compiler gets more done than someone writing in assembly language because every symbol they use does more things. And if what they are doing allows people to create things their increased productivity increases what other people can do in the same amount of time.

A person using a third-generation tool gets more done than a regular programmer because specialized tools can increase programmer productivity still further. A person using PHP and the database connection, plus SQL can produce output generated on a web page through a one-line SELECT ... ORDER BY statement faster and probably with even faster response times (because the system can conceivably precompile SQL to its own internal representation) than a programmer in a standard language like COBOL reading an indexed database and having to sort the output themselves. (That's why newer versions of COBOL now support SQL and XML in order to improve their performance and allow people to continue to use them for real-world relevant applications.)
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Harry Potter fucking sucks. by Ice Cream Jonsey 06/18/2013, 2:55pm PDT NEW
    Can't speak for the books by fabio 06/18/2013, 3:47pm PDT NEW
        The books have a nice rhythm and tone by Fullofkittens 06/18/2013, 3:55pm PDT NEW
        That loud obnoxious whining radio Ron carried drove me fucking crazy by WITTGENSTEIN 06/20/2013, 10:11am PDT NEW
    What is art? What is an artist? by Commander Tansin A. Darcos 06/18/2013, 5:54pm PDT NEW
        The art world has a formal answer to this. by Gutsby 06/18/2013, 7:09pm PDT NEW
            That's not an answer by Vested Id 06/20/2013, 12:36pm PDT NEW
                Re: That's not an answer by Commander Tansin A. Darcos 06/20/2013, 1:57pm PDT NEW
                    Re: That's not an answer by Mysterio 06/21/2013, 5:56pm PDT NEW
        Also there is intentional and unintentional art. Your cooking vids being the lat by Eurotrash 06/18/2013, 8:54pm PDT NEW
            So you say. Doesn't mean you're right, but it is what you say. NT by Commander Tansin A. Darcos 06/19/2013, 1:57pm PDT NEW
                Don't start that. You can reply that way to every single post on the entire int NT by ernet. Do not do that. Don't. 06/19/2013, 3:40pm PDT NEW
                    I ain't Brian. You don't get to tell me to "don't". Don't do that again. NT by Commander Tansin A. Darcos 06/20/2013, 1:21pm PDT NEW
                        You aren't Brian in that metaphor, you're the stupid fat asshole Brian engages w by ith. Go fuck yourself 06/20/2013, 2:13pm PDT NEW
                            Think I don't know that? But you used"don't" to me so I get to invoke metaphor NT by Commander Tansin A. Darcos 06/20/2013, 2:32pm PDT NEW
                Your gimp eye by Cannibal Dave 06/19/2013, 4:23pm PDT NEW
                    Re: Your gimp eye by Ice Cream Jonsey 06/20/2013, 1:24pm PDT NEW
                        About automated tools by Commander Tansin A. Darcos 06/20/2013, 2:25pm PDT NEW
                            People sometimes forget that helpful things are helpful. NT by Thoughts from a 50 year old dumbass 06/20/2013, 4:07pm PDT NEW
                            I spy a wall of text in response to basic human interaction! NT by A compliment, no less! 06/20/2013, 4:54pm PDT NEW
                    Let's take a look at that, shall we by Commander Tansin A. Darcos 06/20/2013, 1:48pm PDT NEW
        Art is when we tell you to go fuck yourself and you cry. NT by go fuck yourself 06/20/2013, 7:57am PDT NEW
            Waaa waaa waa. You first. Waaaa. Now, is that art? I don't think so. NT by Commander Tansin A. Darcos 06/20/2013, 1:23pm PDT NEW
                But, it evoked an emotion, so by your own definition it is. NT by go fuck yourself 06/20/2013, 2:04pm PDT NEW
        Re: What is art? What is an artist? by Vested Id 06/20/2013, 12:41pm PDT NEW
        What is love? Baby don't hurt me. Don't hurt me. NT by No more. 06/20/2013, 4:08pm PDT NEW
            I never can think of Haddaway singing that, I'm always seeing Steve Martin/SNL NT by Commander Tansin A. Darcos 06/20/2013, 6:32pm PDT NEW
                STEVE MARTIN NT by lolollahalhlaholol christ man 06/20/2013, 7:20pm PDT NEW
                    PAUL! ALERT! ALERT! BURY THIS GUY UNDER A MOUNTAIN OF TEXT! by Asperger's Syndrome. 06/21/2013, 4:28am PDT NEW
                    Re: STEVE MARTIN by Mysterio 06/22/2013, 2:10pm PDT NEW
                I think you're confusing Steve Martin with John Belushi. NT by Or Bob Hope 06/20/2013, 9:16pm PDT NEW
            Are people forgetting Steve Martin and "Night at the Roxbury" w/What is Love"? NT by Commander Tansin A. Darcos 06/21/2013, 5:49pm PDT NEW
                Fpund it! by Commander Tansin A. Darcos 06/21/2013, 6:02pm PDT NEW
                    Oh my god. by This is getting scary now. 06/21/2013, 6:52pm PDT NEW
                    I thought maybe it happened this season when Timberlake hosted and Steve Martin by reprised wild and crazy guys. Nope 06/21/2013, 7:30pm PDT NEW
                        POWNED. by /drops mic 06/21/2013, 9:24pm PDT NEW
                Re: Are people forgetting Steve Martin and "Night at the Roxbury" w/What is Lov by WITTGENSTEIN 06/21/2013, 7:51pm PDT NEW
 
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