DamianDominoDavis · April 12, 2024 16:55
diff --git a/Dirk Gently b/Dirk Gently
  "So tell me," said Reg, after they had both had  a  couple
 of  spoonsful and arrived independently at the same conclusion,
 that it was not a taste explosion, "what you've been up to,  my
 dear  chap.  Something  to do with computers, I understand, and
 also to do with music. I thought you read English when you were
 here-though only, I realise, in your spare time." He looked at
 Richard significantly over the rim  of  his  soup  spoon.  "Now
 wait,"  he  interrupted  before  Richard  even  had a chance to
 start, "don't I vaguely remember that  you  had  some  sort  of
 computer when you were here? When was it? 1977?"
     "Well, what we called a computer in 1977 was really a kind
 of electric abacus, but..."
     "Oh,  now,  don't underestimate the abacus," said Reg. "In
 skilled hands it's a  very  sophisticated  calculating  device.
 Furthermore  it  requires  no  power,  can  be  made  with  any
 materials you have to hand, and never goes bing in  the  middle
 of an important piece of work."
     "So an electric one would be particularly pointless," said
 Richard.
     "True enough," conceded Reg.
     "There  really wasn't a lot this machine could do that you
 couldn't do yourself in half the time with a lot less trouble,"
 said Richard, "but it was, on the  other  hand,  very  good  at
 being a slow and dim-witted pupil."
     Reg looked at him quizzically.
     "I  had no idea they were supposed to be in short supply,"
 he said. "I could hit a dozen with a bread roll from where  I'm
 sitting."
     "I'm  sure.  But  look  at it this way. What really is the
 point of trying to teach anything to anybody?"
     This question seemed to provoke a  murmur  of  sympathetic
 approval from up and down the table.
     Richard continued, "What I mean is that if you really want
 to understand  something, the best way is to try and explain it
 to someone else. That forces you to sort it  out  in  your  own
 mind. And the more slow and dim-witted your pupil, the more you
 have  to break things down into more and more simple ideas. And
 that's really the essence of programming. By  the  time  you've
 sorted  out  a  complicated  idea into little steps that even a
 stupid  machine  can  deal  with,  you've   certainly   learned
 something  about  it  yourself. The teacher usually learns more
 than the pupil. Isn't that true?"
     "It would be hard to learn much less than my pupils," came
 a low growl from somewhere on the table, "without undergoing  a
 pre-frontal lobotomy."
     "So  I  used  to  spend days struggling to write essays on
 this 16K machine that would have taken a couple of hours  on  a
 typewriter,  but  what was fascinating to me was the process of
 trying to explain to the machine what it was I wanted it to do.
 I virtually wrote my own word  processor  in  BASIC.  A  simple
 search and replace routine would take about three hours."
     "I forget, did you ever get any essays done at all?"
     "Well,  not as such. No actual essays, but the reasons why
 not were absolutely fascinating.  For  instance,  I  discovered
 that..."
     He broke off, laughing at himself.
	"So tell me," said Reg, after they had both had a couple
	of spoonsful and arrived independently at the same conclusion,
	that it was not a taste explosion, "what you've been up to, my
	dear chap. Something to do with computers, I understand, and
	also to do with music. I thought you read English when you were
	here-though only, I realise, in your spare time." He looked at
	Richard significantly over the rim of his soup spoon. "Now
	wait," he interrupted before Richard even had a chance to
	start, "don't I vaguely remember that you had some sort of
	computer when you were here? When was it? 1977?"
	"Well, what we called a computer in 1977 was really a kind
	of electric abacus, but..."
	"Oh, now, don't underestimate the abacus," said Reg. "In
	skilled hands it's a very sophisticated calculating device.
	Furthermore it requires no power, can be made with any
	materials you have to hand, and never goes bing in the middle
	of an important piece of work."
	"So an electric one would be particularly pointless," said
	Richard.
	"True enough," conceded Reg.
	"There really wasn't a lot this machine could do that you
	couldn't do yourself in half the time with a lot less trouble,"
	said Richard, "but it was, on the other hand, very good at
	being a slow and dim-witted pupil."
	Reg looked at him quizzically.
	"I had no idea they were supposed to be in short supply,"
	he said. "I could hit a dozen with a bread roll from where I'm
	sitting."
	"I'm sure. But look at it this way. What really is the
	point of trying to teach anything to anybody?"
	This question seemed to provoke a murmur of sympathetic
	approval from up and down the table.
	Richard continued, "What I mean is that if you really want
	to understand something, the best way is to try and explain it
	to someone else. That forces you to sort it out in your own
	mind. And the more slow and dim-witted your pupil, the more you
	have to break things down into more and more simple ideas. And
	that's really the essence of programming. By the time you've
	sorted out a complicated idea into little steps that even a
	stupid machine can deal with, you've certainly learned
	something about it yourself. The teacher usually learns more
	than the pupil. Isn't that true?"
	"It would be hard to learn much less than my pupils," came
	a low growl from somewhere on the table, "without undergoing a
	pre-frontal lobotomy."
	"So I used to spend days struggling to write essays on
	this 16K machine that would have taken a couple of hours on a
	typewriter, but what was fascinating to me was the process of
	trying to explain to the machine what it was I wanted it to do.
	I virtually wrote my own word processor in BASIC. A simple
	search and replace routine would take about three hours."
	"I forget, did you ever get any essays done at all?"
	"Well, not as such. No actual essays, but the reasons why
	not were absolutely fascinating. For instance, I discovered
	that..."
	He broke off, laughing at himself.