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Erik Naggum Quotes
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Erik Naggum was a Norwegian computer programmer recognized for his work in the fields of SGML, Emacs and Lisp. Since the early 1990s he was also a provocative participant on various Usenet discussion groups.Naggum made significant contributions to RFC 1123, which defines and discusses the requirements for Internet host software, and RFC 2049, which defines electronic information transfer of various binary formats through e-mail.

In a 1999 newspaper article in Dagbladet, he was interviewed about his aggressive, confrontational participation in Usenet discussion groups. Erik later stated his motto to be: "Some people are little more than herd animals, flocking together whenever the world becomes uncomfortable … I am not one of those people. If I had a motto, it would probably be Herd thither, me hither."

His premature death at the age of 44, On June 17, 2009, was caused by a massive bleeding ulcer, related to ulcerative colitis, which he was diagnosed with about 15 years before his death. Wikipedia  

✵ 13. June 1965 – 17. June 2009
Erik Naggum photo
Erik Naggum: 118   quotes 2   likes

Erik Naggum Quotes

“Like so many other things in life, you rarely get only what you optimize for.”

Erik Naggum

Re: Programming Style http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.lisp/msg/e3e24a5e282e8b4d (Usenet article).
Usenet articles, Miscellaneous

Life , Optimism

“The fundamental deficiency in HTML is that it reduces hypertext and the intertwinedness of human communication to a question of how it is rendered and what happens when you click on it. … HTML is to the browser what PostScript is to the laser printer.”

Erik Naggum

Re: LISP and AI http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.lisp/msg/92b063a1787b26c8 (Usenet article).
Usenet articles, Miscellaneous

Communication , Question

“A novice had a problem and could not find a solution. "I know," said the novice, "I'll just use Perl!" The novice now had two problems.”

Erik Naggum

Re: How is perl braindamaged? (was Re: Is LISP dying?) http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.lisp/msg/37b0ddc2524a8214 (Usenet article)
Paraphrasing Jamie Zawinski, and also formulated as "The unemployed programmer had a problem. 'I know,' said the programmer, 'I'll just learn Perl.' The unemployed programmer now had two problems." in his famous "Perl treatise", Re: can lisp do what perl does easily? http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.lisp/msg/fc76ebab1cb2f863 (Usenet article).
Usenet articles, Perl

Problem

“So pardon my cynical twist, but what are you doing with that 20,000×20,000 double-precision floating point matrix you say you need to invert today? If you answer "nutt'n, I jus kinda wondered what it'd be like, you know", you should be very happy that I am most likely more than 3000 miles away from you, or I would come over and slap you hard.”

Erik Naggum

Re: Upper limits of CL http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.lisp/msg/b3b24fb7512f220f (Usenet article).
Usenet articles, Lisp

Happiness

“XML is a giant step in no direction at all.”

Erik Naggum

Re: Q: parsing strings http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.lisp/msg/3343483b90c8eb4c (Usenet article).
Usenet articles, Miscellaneous

“All experience has taught us that solving a complex problem uncovers hidden assumptions and ever more knowledge, trade-offs that we didn't anticipate but which can make the difference between meeting a deadline and going into research mode for a year, etc.”

Erik Naggum

Re: is CLOS reall OO? http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.lisp/msg/917737b7cc8510e3?dmode=source&output=gplain (Usenet article).
Usenet articles, Miscellaneous

Knowledge , Problem

“If this is not what you expected, please alter your expectations.”

Erik Naggum

Usenet signatures

“I have a cat, so I know that when she digs her very sharp claws into my chest or stomach it's really a sign of affection, but I don't see any reason for programming languages to show affection with pain.”

Erik Naggum

Re: defmacro question http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.lisp/msg/6cd5295c9b463d0a (Usenet article).
Usenet articles, Miscellaneous

Pain , Cats

“NETSCAPISM /net-'sca-, pi-z*m/ n (1995): habitual diversion of the mind to purely imaginative activity or entertainment as an escape from the realization that the Internet was built by and for someone else.”

Erik Naggum

Usenet signatures

Imagination

“Well, take it from an old hand: the only reason it would be easier to program in C is that you can't easily express complex problems in C, so you don't.”

Erik Naggum

Re: new to lisp (3rd time lucky) http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.lisp/msg/ef9b57ecc5555931 (Usenet article).
Usenet articles

Problem

“Unformed people delight in the gaudy and in novelty. Cooked people delight in the ordinary.”

Erik Naggum

Re: Ousterhout and Tcl lost the plot with latest paper http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.functional/msg/3576250859e4d4aa (Usenet article).
Usenet articles, Miscellaneous

People , Cooking

“A "new" language that differs from the rest of the crop by one or a couple features is proof positive that both what it came from and what it has become are mutations about to die. There are tens if not hundreds of thousands of such "languages" that people have invented over the years, for all sorts of weird purposes where they just could not use whatever language they were already using, could not extend it, and could not fathom how to modify its tools without making a whole new language. They never stopped to think about how horribly wasteful this is, they just went on to create yet another language called Dodo, the Titanic, Edsel, Kyoto-agreement …”

Erik Naggum

Re: Representing code as XML: the Flare Programming Language http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.lisp/msg/ecea40eb1602ce7c (Usenet article).
Usenet articles, Miscellaneous

People , Thinking

“More and more, people see that solving any problem is a question of acquiring knowledge and having respect for the cognitive and epistemological processes involved in the human brain: use what you know, learn what you can, and if you have to guess, be aware that you do so you can go back and update your guesses when you (hopefully) learn more.”

Erik Naggum

Re: is CLOS reall OO? http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.lisp/msg/917737b7cc8510e3?dmode=source&output=gplain (Usenet article).
Usenet articles, Miscellaneous

People , Question , Knowledge , Problem

“In C++, reinvention is its own reward.”

Erik Naggum

Re: wretched C++ http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.functional/msg/178f262397afdbb5 (Usenet article).
Usenet articles, C++

“If Perl is the solution, you're solving the wrong problem.”

Erik Naggum

Re: Q: on hashes and counting (Usenet article) http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.lisp/msg/ba0447f11766db41.
Usenet articles, Perl

Problem

“The only important property of evils of the past is that they not be repeated in the future, in any way, shape, or form.”

Erik Naggum

Re: Stalin is not a cool name for software http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.lisp/msg/428b1f0fb729d6c7 (Usenet article).
Usenet articles, Miscellaneous

Way , Evil , Past , Future

“Some people are little more than herd animals, flocking together whenever the world becomes uncomfortable for any reason, seeking the comfort of those who agree with them, do not contradict them, and take care of their emotions. I am not one of those people. If I had a motto, it would probably be Herd thither, me hither.”

Erik Naggum

Ungregarious News http://ungregarious.org/2004/

People , World , Animals

“You have failed to consider the ramifications of the solutions and pose a problem that simply would not exist if you did. This taxes my patience, which is already legendary in its general absence.”

Erik Naggum

Re: XML and lisp http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.lisp/msg/06d4be5b6f5bc154 (Usenet article).
Usenet articles, Miscellaneous

Problem , Patience

“Have you considered the option of getting the joke? If not, try it now and redeem your soul.”

Erik Naggum

Re: Lisp Machines considered Inferior http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.lisp/msg/e8006d8ddc903c45 (Usenet article).
Usenet articles, Miscellaneous

Soul

“Life is hard, and then you die.”

Erik Naggum

Usenet signatures

Life

“Let's just hope that all the world is run by Bill Gates before the Perl hackers can destroy it.”

Erik Naggum

Re: perl embedded in emacs http://groups.google.com/group/comp.emacs/msg/9ab7f3307363849a (Usenet article).
Usenet articles, Perl

World , Hope

“For some reason, the United States is the only country on Earth where accidents don't happen – it's always somebody's fault, and you can sue that somebody for neglect.”

Erik Naggum

Re: About the usage of throw/catch http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.lisp/msg/4a8b7e8d414b6c46 (Usenet article).
Usenet articles, Miscellaneous

Country

“Languages shape the way we think, or don't.”

Erik Naggum

Re: Search & Replace in sequences http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.lisp/msg/baafc407b4bd66f5 (Usenet article).
Usenet articles, Miscellaneous

Way , Thinking

“Whoever decided to use the semicolon to end something should just be taken out and have his colon semified. (At least COBOL and SQL managed to use a period.)”

Erik Naggum

Re: Read table modification question. http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.lisp/msg/e41a53e66cc1572f (Usenet article).
Usenet articles, Miscellaneous

“Is it still "artificial intelligence" when the task is to model human stupidity, or would only preventing its devastating consequences get an "AI" rating?”

Erik Naggum

Re: Harlequin was: Re: Is LISP dying? http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.lisp/msg/4cf16808182eb81e (Usenet article).
Usenet articles, Miscellaneous

Stupidity , Intelligence

“The Web provided me with a much needed realization that information cannot be fully separated from its presentation, and showed me something I knew without verbalizing explicitly, that the presentation form we choose communicates real information.”

Erik Naggum

Re: S-exp vs XML, HTML, LaTeX (was: Why lisp is growing) http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.lisp/msg/9a30c508201627ee (Usenet article).
Usenet articles, Miscellaneous

Communication

“If car manufacturers made cars according to spec the same way software vendors make software according to spec, all five wheels would be of widely differing sizes, it would take one person to steer and another to work the pedals and yet another to operate the user-friendly menu-driven dashboard, and if it would not drive straight ahead without a lot of effort, civil engineers would respond by building spiraling roads around each city.”

Erik Naggum

Re: What obstacles do Common Lisp programmers face? http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.lisp/msg/47a3832fab496eda (Usenet article).
Usenet articles, Miscellaneous

Cars , Way , Effort , Personality

“… it's just that in C++ and the like, you don't trust anybody, and in CLOS you basically trust everybody. The practical result is that thieves and bums use C++ and nice people use CLOS.”

Erik Naggum

Re: is CLOS reall OO? http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.lisp/msg/07310c842fea847c (Usenet article).
Usenet articles, C++

People

“"Code sharing" is an economic surplus phenomenon. It works only when none of the people involved in it are in any form of need.”

Erik Naggum

Re: realistic but short and simple LISP examples? http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.lisp/msg/29f678c98842ea2d (Usenet article).
Usenet articles, Miscellaneous

People

“The currency in the developer community is enthusiasm.”

Erik Naggum

What I want from my Common Lisp vendor and the Common Lisp community http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.lisp/msg/4563e504dba92253 (Usenet article).
Usenet articles, Miscellaneous

Communication

“I have actually programmed a fair bit in Perl, like I have C++ code published with my name on it. Other things I have tried and have no intention to do again if I can at all avoid it include smoking, getting drunk enough to puke and waste the whole next day with hang-over, breaking a leg in a violent car crash, getting mugged in New York City, or travel with Aeroflot.”

Erik Naggum

Re: How is perl braindamaged? (was Re: Is LISP dying?) http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.lisp/msg/37b0ddc2524a8214 (Usenet article).
Usenet articles, Perl

Cars , Travel

“They don't make poles long enough for me want to touch Microsoft products, and I don't want any mass-marketed game-playing device or Windows appliance near my desk or on my network. This is my workbench, dammit, it's not a pretty box to impress people with graphics and sounds. When I work at this system up to 12 hours a day, I'm profoundly uninterested in what user interface a novice user would prefer.”

Erik Naggum

Re: Why lisp failed in the marketplace http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.lisp/msg/6dd13ffe0e273031 (Usenet article).
Usenet articles, Miscellaneous

People , Game , Box

“The Internet will not become a money machine until the banking industry figures out how to transfer money for free so you can charge USD 0.005 (half a cent) for some simple service like, say, reading a newspaper article you have searched for. With today's payment system, the cost of the transfer of the funds completely dwarf the cost of the service paid for. … This situation, however, is what acutely prevents the Internet from taking off as a network for paid services.”

Erik Naggum

Re: is it ok if I quote? http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.lisp/msg/2e6eea14913a5c55
Usenet articles, Miscellaneous

Money , Search , Reading

“Constructing a social system that tends to those who agree with it is a piece of cake compared to constructing one that makes those who disagree with it want to obey its principles.”

Erik Naggum

Erik Naggum on Atlas Shrugged http://netsettlement.blogspot.com/2010/01/erik-naggum-on-atlas-shrugged.html

“Part of any serious QA is removing Perl code the same way you go over a dilapidated building you inherit to remove chewing gum and duct tape and fix whatever was kept together for real.”

Erik Naggum

Re: can lisp do what perl does easily? http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.lisp/msg/fc76ebab1cb2f863 (Usenet article).
Usenet articles, Perl

Way , Parting

“A system needs to be alive and workable even when other people than the first enthusiasts start using it. Reinvention and revolution are enthusiast stuff. Invention and evolution are engineering.”

Erik Naggum

Re: "Well, I want to switch over to replace EMACS LISP with Guile." http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.lisp/msg/6670472eec71d00e (Usenet article).
Usenet articles, Miscellaneous

People

“1,3,7-trimethylxanthine – a basic ingredient in quality software.”

Erik Naggum

Usenet signatures

“You become a serious programmer by going through a stage where you are fully aware of the degree to which you know the specification, meaning both the explicit and the tacit specification of your language and of your problem. "Hey, it works most of the time" is the very antithesis of a serious programmer, and certain languages can only support code like that.”

Erik Naggum

Re: Implementational Portability http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.lisp/msg/d10b5da103312c35 (Usenet article).
Usenet articles, Miscellaneous

Support , Problem , Time

“If you want to know why Lisp doesn't win around you, find a mirror.”

Erik Naggum

Re: Java is really convenient. Re: Sun thinks about switching Java to S-expression syntax: Lava http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.lisp/msg/a6328749f51dfaee (Usenet article).
Usenet articles, Lisp

“My other car is a cdr.”

Erik Naggum

Usenet signatures

Cars

“Travel is a meat thing.”

Erik Naggum

Usenet signatures

Travel

“When all actions are used for feedback, the consequence of making mistakes will be a corrective and appropriate response, because everything everybody does matters.”

Erik Naggum

… The more selective you are in the feedback you accept, the more insane your reasoning will become as you will necessarily reject corrective feedback that would have led to better reasoning.
Re: Lisp's future http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.lisp/msg/ba8f8f34c16d55f3 (Usenet article).
Usenet articles, Miscellaneous

Making love

“Short of coming to their senses and abolishing the whole thing, we might expect that the rules for daylight saving time will remain the same for some time to come, but there is no guarantee.”

Erik Naggum

We can only be glad there is no daylight loan time, or we would face decades of too much daylight, only to be faced with a few years of total darkness to make up for it.
The Long, Painful History of Time http://naggum.no/lugm-time.html.

Sense , Time

“Some people are not much more than herd animals, which rot together when the world becomes uncomfortable… I am not one of them. If I had a motto, it would probably be: The herd over there, I here”

Erik Naggum

translated from Norwegian with google
Source: Kranglefant på nettet https://www.dagbladet.no/kultur/kranglefant-pa-nettet/65497877 (Publisert lørdag 09. januar 1999 - 09:18)

Animals , World , People