Re: [Haskell-cafe] A different Maybe maybe

I was not implying that the others' responses actually were critical. I was implying that many (especially people newer to Haskell or lacking postgraduate degrees in mathematics or computer science) would interpret them as such, and if not quickly clarified, might discourage non-gurus from contributing new ideas in the off-chance that they are not new and will be shot down. :( Knowledge can only be gained, but the freshness of ideas can only be lost. Thus do libertines and virgins each have something to offer the other. I personally feel that a well-placed emoticon (such as the ;-) you have so effectively used) goes a long way in a medium without face-to-face contact. Dan Dougal Stanton wrote:

On 08/03/07, Dan Weston wrote:

...

Do not let the multiple responses of how you apparently wasted your time reinventing (or do they mean stealing?) something Church did long ago dampen your enthusiasm to learn exciting things and then share them.

I agree with your sentiment that discovering things is fun, no matter how many times it has been done before. But I don't think the other respondents were critical. I read them as properly congratulatory, not sarcastic. It's not everyone that gets to claim they had the same idea as Alonzo Church! ;-)

Maybe we need a You Could Have Invented Church Encoding (And Maybe You Already Have) [1] blog post somewhere...

D.

[1]: http://sigfpe.blogspot.com/2006/08/you-could-have-invented-monads-and.html _______________________________________________ Haskell-Cafe mailing list Haskell-Cafe@haskell.org http://www.haskell.org/mailman/listinfo/haskell-cafe