How users start programming in Emacs Lisp...

[Christopher Dimech]

> Sent: Wednesday, June 02, 2021 at 2:09 AM
> From: "Arthur Miller" <arthur.miller@live.com>
> To: "Christopher Dimech" <dimech@gmx.com>
> Cc: "Eduardo Ochs" <eduardoochs@gmail.com>, "help-gnu-emacs" 
> <help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org>, "Jean Louis" <bugs@gnu.support>
> Subject: Re: How users start programming in Emacs Lisp...
>
> Christopher Dimech <dimech@gmx.com> writes:
>
> >> Sent: Sunday, May 30, 2021 at 11:43 PM
> >> From: "Arthur Miller" <arthur.miller@live.com>
> >> To: "Eduardo Ochs" <eduardoochs@gmail.com>
> >> Cc: "Christopher Dimech" <dimech@gmx.com>, "help-gnu-emacs" 
> >> <help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org>, "Jean Louis" <bugs@gnu.support>
> >> Subject: Re: How users start programming in Emacs Lisp...
> >>
> >> Eduardo Ochs <eduardoochs@gmail.com> writes:
> >>
> >> > On Sat, 29 May 2021 at 23:12, Christopher Dimech <dimech@gmx.com> wrote:
> >> >>
> >> >> > Sent: Sunday, May 30, 2021 at 10:37 AM
> >> >> > From: "Jean Louis" <bugs@gnu.support>
> >> >> > To: "Christopher Dimech" <dimech@gmx.com>
> >> >> > Cc: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org
> >> >> > Subject: How users start programming in Emacs Lisp...
> >> >> >
> >> >> > (...)
> >> >> >
> >> >> > *scratch* buffer is famous for it.
> >> >> >
> >> >> > I just need more of them but *scratch*, so I do it this way:
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > Hi, just a curiosity...
> >> >
> >> > why do you prefer to use scratch buffers for elisp code instead of
> >> > using (semi-scratch?) files in which we record all our experiments?
> >> >
> >> > In the tutorials of eev I try to convince the new users to treat their
> >> > notes and scratch code as "field notes", and save everything they
> >> > can... one of my arguments is this:
> >> >
> >> >   Learning eev is also like learning to use paper notebooks. It is
> >> >   much easier to understand the notes and ideas what we wrote
> >> >   ourselves in our notebooks than to understand what other people
> >> >   wrote in their notebooks... when we go back to what _we_ wrote we
> >> >   are able to reconnect with what we were thinking, even when our
> >> >   notes are quite terse because we did not write down all details -
> >> >   and we can't do that with other people's notes.
> >>
> >> I think you are probably correct about saving notes. Some vary famious
> >> scientists attribute almost everything to their notes.
> >
> > That is correct.  Darwin and Fermi have done the same.  But Stephen King
> > is famous for saying that notes are the best way to immortalise bad ideas.
>
> How could we know good ideas if it wasn't for bad ones?
>
> King is probably correct, but 90% or more ideas people get are probably
> bad, it is just that we remember the good ones (mostly :)). Also, some
> good ideas probably started as bad ideas. Socrates thought that writing
> is a bad idea. He never wrote a single note. :-(
>
> > Really good ideas stick around.  Today, I get to agree with King in respect
> > to the experience with Fermi.  But the same cannot be said about Darmin
> > during his trips.
> >
> > Thusly, in point of fact, there are no good rules, but just what works for 
> > you.
>
> That seems like a rule you are stating there? :)

The rule that there is no rule