[H-GEN] Which is better?

[Matthew Sellers]

On Sun, 25 Apr 2004 20:04:56 +1000
Andrae Muys <andrae at internode.on.net> wrote:

> > On Sat, Apr 24, 2004 at 06:46:48PM +1000, Greg Black wrote:
> > 
> >>The real question here is: why do you care?
> >>
> >>At this stage of your programming life, your only real goal is to get it
> >>right.
> > 
> > 
> > So trying to understand how it works, figuring out what the differences
> > are between two implementations, learning from experiences of others,
> > isn't part of "getting it right"?
> > 
> 
> Ahh, now if he had asked any of those questions then you would have a 
> valid, point.  As what he actually asked were unanswerable minutae 
> regarding *micro*-optimisation, your point is moot.
> 
> Moreover, as the questions themselves evidence a typical problem most 
> first-years seem to have, Greg's response was not only valid, but highly 
> appropriate.

Gregs answer was a deflection. While I am not disputing that his point is
correct, the answer was not very useful.

Something that I believe in strongly is that when a student asks a question, it
is THAT question that should be answered. Regardless of what the teacher
(lecturer, mailing list guru) thinks. The question is something that the student
wants to know, possibly has to know before they will be able to move forward
without being distracted by it.

Why do first years get fixated by efficiency? Because their lecturers
often ignore it entirely due to it's relative unimportance. This omission calls
attention to it as it is something that many assume is central to programming.

> > He showed some examples, analysed it and wanted to known our opinions
> > about it. It sounds like he was actively[sp] looking for solutions.
> > Doesn't sound like somebody who just wants to get the piece of
> > paper.
> 
> I agree, his initiative in taking his question to a place where he might 
> get some intelligent answers shows great promise.  I just hope he has 
> the wisdom to realise that Greg has answered the question he needed to 
> ask, rather than the question he mistakenly substituted.
 
The question that is asked is the question that needs answering. If you have a
point to make regarding the nature of the question than it should be made in
addition to the answer of the question itself (as you and others have already 
done elsewhere in this thread).

- 
Matthew Sellers