Re: [lojban] Re: [hobyrne: Alphabet]

["Matt Arnold" <matt.mattarn@gmail.com>]

On 7/3/06, Hugh O'Byrne <hobyrne@gmail.com> wrote:
> Thanks for your reply :) it is definitely one of the kindest ones I've
> received.

This is because enthusiastic people get me excited.

> I have admitted to having little regard for social inertia.

I could be wrong, but that's the most common trait of Lojbanists in my
experience thus far.

> Hmm.  The only measure of success is reality itself.  I'm not sure I can
> wrap my head around this; the implied meaning is that the only measure
> of success is *history*, and that, I disagree with.

I get it. That's not what I meant. For another example, consider the
distinction between hard science fiction and soft genres. With hard
SF, people get in arguments about the actual laws of physics and what
they do or don't allow. Whereas in fantasy and other softer genres, if
you ask why a space alien in Star Wars looks so implausible, the
answer is that George Lucas said so and it was true by executive fiat.
The author cannot be wrong about an imagination he pulled out of his
head, so there can be no argument. In the more stringent genres, if
the author says you can exceed the speed of light, the author is
wrong.

Similarly, with Microsoft Windows you can't get at the source code so
it's just going to be whatever Microsoft says it is. With Linux
everybody can make it their own preference, so its splinters into an
endless array of projects that are too often competing with each other
for users.

Similarly, a lot of thought went into making Lojban "right" or
"improved" by some standards which were (presumably) kind of
measurable. Now people constantly attempt to measure it, and can't
leave it alone.

In all of these areas, you just have to stop and say "good enough" or
you'll never have any improvements that people will agree on and
adopt.

-epkat