Comments on: Enjoying my Vacation http://toshuo.com/2007/enjoying-my-vacation/ Chinese, Linguistics, Science, Cultural Observations and whatever else I feel like writing about Thu, 08 Jan 2009 11:54:16 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: Nick http://toshuo.com/2007/enjoying-my-vacation/comment-page-1/#comment-30748 Nick Thu, 01 Mar 2007 21:34:27 +0000 http://toshuo.com/2007/enjoying-my-vacation/#comment-30748 I'm sure I could find a few side projects that use LISP and Haskell, but I haven't really looked for them---most everything here is written in C++/python/java. I've typically only dived into new languages when I needed some intellectual stimulation to shake things up, and believe me since I've started at the Google I haven't found any need for extra intellectual stimulation =) I’m sure I could find a few side projects that use LISP and Haskell, but I haven’t really looked for them—most everything here is written in C++/python/java.

I’ve typically only dived into new languages when I needed some intellectual stimulation to shake things up, and believe me since I’ve started at the Google I haven’t found any need for extra intellectual stimulation =)

]]> By: Mark http://toshuo.com/2007/enjoying-my-vacation/comment-page-1/#comment-26244 Mark Sat, 17 Feb 2007 18:15:13 +0000 http://toshuo.com/2007/enjoying-my-vacation/#comment-26244 Nick said: <blockquote>... it was the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis that first got me started studying Chinese (”If I learn another language it will make me look at the world differently, and what can be more different from Chinese than English?”).</blockquote> Nick, believe it or not, that's half of <i>my</i> motivation to learn languages, too! Congrats on the job at Google. Have you ever had any opportunities to use LISP or Haskell on the job? Nick said:

… it was the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis that first got me started studying Chinese (”If I learn another language it will make me look at the world differently, and what can be more different from Chinese than English?”).

Nick, believe it or not, that’s half of my motivation to learn languages, too! Congrats on the job at Google. Have you ever had any opportunities to use LISP or Haskell on the job?

]]> By: Mark http://toshuo.com/2007/enjoying-my-vacation/comment-page-1/#comment-25174 Mark Tue, 13 Feb 2007 23:36:51 +0000 http://toshuo.com/2007/enjoying-my-vacation/#comment-25174 I'm enjoying it too, John. Would you happen to have any suggestions for where I could find some good sample exercises to work through? That's one thing the "Pickaxe" book seems to be missing. I started typing in the examples and messing around with them via the IRB, but now that I'm a 100 or so pages into the book it isn't working so well. I’m enjoying it too, John. Would you happen to have any suggestions for where I could find some good sample exercises to work through? That’s one thing the “Pickaxe” book seems to be missing. I started typing in the examples and messing around with them via the IRB, but now that I’m a 100 or so pages into the book it isn’t working so well.

]]> By: Nick http://toshuo.com/2007/enjoying-my-vacation/comment-page-1/#comment-25173 Nick Tue, 13 Feb 2007 23:33:20 +0000 http://toshuo.com/2007/enjoying-my-vacation/#comment-25173 I hear you about the "thinking differently"---it was the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis that first got me started studying Chinese ("If I learn another language it will make me look at the world differently, and what can be more different from Chinese than English?"). End result, unfortunately, is that I'm pretty fluent now, but haven't noticed any change in thinking. Learning programming languages, though... that <i>does</i> twist your mind right well! I grew up on c++/java (now work mostly in python), but wrapping my mind around lisp and haskell <i>significantly</i> changed the way I look at the world... I hear you about the “thinking differently”—it was the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis that first got me started studying Chinese (”If I learn another language it will make me look at the world differently, and what can be more different from Chinese than English?”).

End result, unfortunately, is that I’m pretty fluent now, but haven’t noticed any change in thinking.

Learning programming languages, though… that does twist your mind right well! I grew up on c++/java (now work mostly in python), but wrapping my mind around lisp and haskell significantly changed the way I look at the world…

]]> By: John B http://toshuo.com/2007/enjoying-my-vacation/comment-page-1/#comment-25157 John B Tue, 13 Feb 2007 21:21:16 +0000 http://toshuo.com/2007/enjoying-my-vacation/#comment-25157 Awesome, Ruby is terrific. Its various structures were a bitch and a third to wrap my head around when I was learning it (and I am by no means a master) but once you get them down you can do some ludicrously powerful things in just a few lines of code, without resorting Perl-like syntax insanity. Awesome, Ruby is terrific. Its various structures were a bitch and a third to wrap my head around when I was learning it (and I am by no means a master) but once you get them down you can do some ludicrously powerful things in just a few lines of code, without resorting Perl-like syntax insanity.

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