Why Jesus Never Ate a Banana | Gastro Obscura

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/food-origins-map

https://alecmuffett.com/article/109613

#stuffToRead

Having it both ways: Larry Wall, Perl and the technology and culture of the early web | a critical analysis of the impact of Perl

I’m pretty sure that the author is simply restating that Perl allowed ordinary geeks to participate in Web development & research … with a subtext that that’s unusual since the web ought to have been stitched-up as a (Marxist?) vision of industry exploiting the worker, possibly a-la Stallman.

If so, the author’s dog’s tail is somewhat wagging the author’s dog. Aside from any other reason, they have skipped the history & impact of the Unix Toolkit approach to scripting – which Perl as the “Swiss Army Chainsaw” of tools stood heavily upon.

Still, an interesting read.

First, I argue that Perl must be understood in the context of Wall’s work on previous free software projects. Drawing on Boltanski and Thévenot’s (Citation2006) concept of justificatory regimes, I argue that this body of work was notable for how it committed to a “civic world” of valuing software in terms of a uniform collective interest. However, this framework also helps to uncover differences between Wall’s free software work and that of Richard Stallman, founder of the Free Software Foundation. Second, I show how Perl’s success in the 1990s was tied to its culture of synthesis, or having it both ways.2 Both in terms of the language’s design, as well key actions and decisions made by Wall and others regarding the organization and culture of the Perl community, Perl’s success was tied to how it emphasized flexibility and evolution while encouraging integrity and portability, how it neutralized potential conflict, and how it balanced between Wall’s creative control and the collective efforts of an increasingly large and devoted community of volunteer developers. Most significantly, through their collaboration around Perl, Wall, O’Reilly and others instituted forms of cooperation between free software communities and the mainstream computing industry.

In short, my claim is that Perl’s significance for the 90s web goes beyond the well-documented use of the language in web development. The language’s history illustrates the kinds of material, social, economic and discursive arrangements that enabled an odd form of ‘autonomous’ production within the emerging field of new media.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/24701475.2018.1495810

https://alecmuffett.com/article/109167

#history #perl #programming #stuffToRead

Shoshana Weissmann: Carding People for Joining Social Media Solves Nothing

https://reason.com/podcast/2024/02/14/shoshana-weissmann-carding-people-for-joining-social-media-solves-nothing/

https://alecmuffett.com/article/109164

#ageAssurance #ageEstimation #ageVerification #stuffToRead

From Vexing Uncertainty to Intellectual Humility | …an amazing snapshot of schizophrenia

https://academic.oup.com/schizophreniabulletin/advance-article/doi/10.1093/schbul/sbad173/7517011

https://alecmuffett.com/article/108928

#mentalHealth #stuffToRead

KOSA isn’t designed to help kids. | by danah boyd

danah boyd, on the nail:

Bills like KOSA will not help young people. They are rooted in a political agenda to look like they’re holding big tech accountable. But they pretend like they will make a difference and it’s not politically prudent to challenge the failed logic.

https://zephoria.medium.com/kosa-isnt-designed-to-help-kids-335ab57cddae

https://alecmuffett.com/article/109069

#kosa #mustRead #stuffToRead