Neo-Whorf Hypothesis
2021-05-05
"The language used in a given culture and the ability to effectively intellectualize are directly influenced by the means by which individuals control the external manipulation of symbols during the course of their development" --- Douglas Carl Engelbart. Translation by Nishio
External manipulation of symbols means manipulating symbols outside the brain instead of thinking about them inside the brain. Like writing a sentence in Japanese.
For example, the "means of controlling the external manipulation of symbols" is different when writing with indelible ink on expensive parchment paper and when using a word processor that allows any amount of writing and erasing. The hypothesis is that this affects language and the ability to engage in intellectual activity.
It is easier to imagine a programming language than to imagine a natural language.
In the days when programs were written by punching holes in punched tape, the pressure to reduce the number of characters was strong.
As individual programmers came to have their own personal computers, and as searching within projects and completion by IDEs became more comfortable, they began to give names that were easier to search for and read and understand than to reduce the number of characters.
Typing languages are now preferred so that IDE completion can work efficiently.
relevance
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