If many top notch computer programmers,
in a field where people are largely selected for their ability
to understand causes and consequences,
fail to understand
the difference between a constant and a variable
with respect to a given choice,
how can you expect people from professions
that don't thus select their members
to fathom the
difference?
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You know, Bulgakov wrote in "Dog's heart" the following (in my translation):
"If you care about your digestion, here's my friendly advice: do not talk about Bolshevism and medicine at the lunch table. And, God preserve you, do not read Soviet newspapers before lunch."
I think this is great advice (Bulgakov, after all, did have medical training and practice) and can be generalized way beyond that particular historical context. Now, as much as I like what you have to say in many cases (I am your regular reader), some of your rants have a similar venomous quality to them, which I would really like you to consider (and avoid, if possible) in the future. Please-please-please don't write like a Soviet journalist.
One reason I love Nasreddin Hodja stories so much is that they are uplifting and funny (and I believe they help digestion, too :-) ), while being in large part responsible for my anarchist world views, so they definitely do work as a tool of persuasion/subversion. Now, the peoples of Central Asia, who passed on these stories through generations, have more experience with brutal state oppression than us East- and West-Europeans combined. Yet, they found the strength to laugh it in the face, for which I admire them so greatly.
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And blessed be the lack of copyright enforcement in Russia. :-) Download it while you can.
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