From: slumos@... (Steven Lumos) Date: 2003-08-27T06:29:00+09:00 Subject: Re: Quotable quote from Matz "Shashank Date" wrote in message news:... > "Lyle Johnson" wrote in message > news:3F466B7E.3030005@users.sourceforge.net... > > One can also refer to this slide from Matz's OSCON2003 presentation: > > > > http://www.rubyist.net/~matz/slides/oscon2003/mgp00043.jpg > > > > Or, to paraphrase another of Matz's lines from the past: "'Principle of > > Least Surprise' means least surprise to *me*" ;) > > Yes, the *me* part needs to be underscored heavily. Otherwise, it is > ambiguous and people are naturally going to interpret it in their own > context. The real problem is that THE Principal of Least Surprise is used in the first place. That implies a universal. Some quick google searches for POLS and POLA imply that most people consider it to apply the the users and not the developer/language designer. If anyone is really bothered that much by it, use a more clear name, like DSM (Doesn't Surprise Matz), or ITM (Intuitive to Matz). Besides, wouldn't it be much more fun for people to post "DSM violations" which then go on to argue why Matz should be surprised? Steve