From: Robert Feldt <feldt@...>
Date: 2001-10-12T06:18:06+09:00
Subject: [ruby-talk:22445] Re: OSSL opinion

On Fri, 12 Oct 2001, Sean Russell wrote:

> > I guess it all boils down to adhering to PoLS ("Principle of Least
> > Surprise") and/or PlatonicUniverseTM ("Things working as they should/would
> > in an ideal (parallel) universe").
> 
> I'd heard of the first, but not the second.  What is the source?
> 
Ehrm, my brain doing some rehashes of its fading memories...  ;-)

What I remember about Platon's philosophy of our reality from way back in
school is that he thought the things we see around us is a mirror image of
the ideal/real thing in a different "space". The mirror image is distorted
and can never quite be "like" the original it is modeled after. My concept
above was a free-form variation on my distorted memory of Platons
ideas. It may not be very correct but struck me as conveying my message in
this context.

I checked it up some more on this page:

http://www.nyu.edu/pages/linguistics/courses/v610051/plato.html

and found this discussion on Platons theory of knowledge (from his book 
"The Republic") and especially his "Myth of the cave":

"The myth of the cave describes individuals chained deep within the
recesses of a cave. Bound so that vision is restricted, they cannot see
one another. The only thing visible is the wall of the cave upon which
appear shadows cast by models or statues of animals and objects that are
passed before a brightly burning fire. Breaking free, one of the
individuals escapes from the cave into the light of day. With the aid of
the sun, that person sees for the first time the real world and returns to
the cave with the message that the only things they have seen heretofore
are shadows and appearances and that the real world awaits them if they
are willing to struggle free of their bonds. The shadowy environment of
the cave symbolizes for Plato the physical world of appearances. Escape
into the sun-filled setting outside the cave symbolizes the transition to
the real world, the world of full and perfect being, the world of Forms,
which is the proper object of knowledge."

In my "analogy" the things on the walls is our imperfect understandings of
the real/ideal forms out there, but when an individual (Ruby
programmer) sees the light, he sees a path from the shadowy world of
appearances (current/legace API:s) into the utopia of real "objects of
knowledge" (polished Ruby gems). 

So with this in mind KISS would be an imperative helping to attain the
quality (with a name!) of PoLS within the vision of obtaining real
knowledge of the PlatonicIdeaUniverse, the utopia of purified knowledge
gems.

I probably have taken this way too far. Its a bit late here in
Sweden... ;-)

Sorry,

/Robert