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Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.carno.net.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!news.rmit.EDU.AU!news.unimelb.edu.au!munnari.OZ.AU!news.Hawaii.Edu!news.caldera.com!enews.sgi.com!news.mathworks.com!news-peer.sprintlink.net!sprint!news-pull.sprintlink.net!news.sprintlink.net!news-ana-24.sprintlink.net!unicomp.net!cbbrowne From: cbbrowne@news.brownes.org (Christopher B. Browne) Newsgroups: alt.os.linux,comp.os.linux.misc,comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc Subject: Re: Linux or FreeBSD (or something else?) Date: 15 Apr 1997 04:33:12 GMT Organization: Chris Browne's Apartment Lines: 36 Message-ID: <slrn5l5lh6.ndu.cbbrowne@knuth.brownes.org> References: <slrn5kaf5t.11r.c_chaos@chaosnet.wahnapitae.on.ca> <01bc4136$20f68ec0$78c5a9c6@win95> <3345FD90.4A3@kashmir.net> <5ipv9f$itd$1@halcyon.com> <5itgvo$dbd@grobbebol.xs4all.nl> Reply-To: cbbrowne@unicomp.net NNTP-Posting-Host: dal2-26.ppp.unicomp.net X-Newsreader: slrn (0.9.3.2 UNIX) Xref: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au alt.os.linux:20206 comp.os.linux.misc:170006 comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc:39133 On 14 Apr 1997 15:03:20 -0000, Roeland Th. Jansen <bengel@grobbebol.xs4all.nl> posted: >In alt.os.linux Tim Smith <tzs@halcyon.com> wrote: >> Do you apply this same standard to all tools? For instance, should people >> need to understand something about how petroleum is refined before they >> put gas in their cars? Should one need to know thermodynamics in order >> to make one's refrigerator get colder? Should one be conversant in rim >> flushes and siphon jets before one flushes one's toilet? >no bt a few basic skills do come in handy sometimes... You may not need to know how petroleum is refined, but it's useful to know that the stuff is flammable; you need to know to worry about fumes. You ought to know at least enough about thermodynamics to know that: a) In order to get the inside cool, the back has to get warm, and b) Opening the refrigerator door isn't going to make the kitchen cooler. After a couple of messy clog experiences, I really don't *want* to know anything about toilets. :-) But it's useful to at least know what's going to stop it from overflowing if something goes badly wrong. Ignorance isn't a crime, so long as one is willing to solve the "ignorance problem." Regardless, ignorance has costs. Misunderstanding how the things in the world that you can manipulate function may not bite today, but will, eventually. -- Christopher B. Browne, cbbrowne@unicomp.net, chris_browne@sdt.com PGP Fingerprint: 10 5A 20 3C 39 5A D3 12 D9 54 26 22 FF 1F E9 16 URL: <http://www.conline.com/~cbbrowne/> Linux: When one country worth of OS developers just isn't enough...