Bertrand Meyer's technology+ blog
Software engineering, programming methodology, languages, verification, general technology, publication culture, and more
It is easy to engage in generalities; it is risky to make firm predictions. In the first case there is no reckoning; in the second one the actual events can prove you wrong for everyone to see. I am taking the risk. Here is my prediction: Putin’s energy blackmail (Western Europe will freeze this winter!) … Read more
In the heavy context of current news I hope it is permissible to engage in lighter observations. Some time ago I was briefly in Dresden, in the midst of a mayoral election campaign, and I noticed posters for this candidate: “Dirk Hilbert, Competent For Dresden”. Apparently it worked since he is now mayor, but do … Read more
It is customary for an article to carry some kind of lesson or moral. This one does not. Or to be more exact it does have a lesson, several perhaps, but they are left to the reader to draw. It is also customary, for an article that is written as a tribute to deceased people, … Read more
Could someone please explain what there is to celebrate when a candidate is elected to a political function? The grotesque ideas of a victory rally or an inauguration ceremony defy common sense. An election success is an opportunity to start doing something good. It is not an achievement; it is the promise of possible achievements … Read more
Vous souvenez-vous de ce discours ? Françaises, Français, mes chers compatriotes, Je voulais vous parler hier mais on m’a dit que l’expression “appel du 18 juin” était déjà prise et j’ai décidé d’attendre jusqu’aujourd’hui, 19 juin 2020. Un jour ne devrait pas faire une grande différence. Mon message à toutes et à tous est simple … Read more
Another completely unexpected gem from the Viaje de Turquia (see the previous article on this blog): a 16-th century statement of the Dunning-Kruger effect! An effect, of course, which has never been more visible than today (just watch the news). Against Pedro, who narrates his travels and travails, the dialog sets two other characters, friends … Read more
At this gloomy moment it is good to find a gem in an unexpected place. I am reading (in translation) the Viaje de Turquia, or Turkish Voyage — literaly, Voyage of Turkey — a 16th-century epic dialog, whose authorship is disputed. It is a precious source of information on the period and rings throughout like a … Read more
In my last article, time to live up to the boasting, I pointed out how bewildering it is to see that top newspapers around the world, the supposed “papers of reference”, continue both to: Extoll their grandiose proclamations of supposed devotion to public service. Charge for access to the epidemic that is scaring the world. … Read more
The decent media is not modest these days. “Democracy Dies in Darkness” says the excellent Washington Post, intimating, if I understand it right, that the only way for the US to avoid dictatorship is that I pay subscription fees. Maybe I would if they just stopped devoting every single one of their articles to King … Read more
Nulle part, dans la cohue des exégèses du mouvement des « gilets jaunes », ne trouve-t-on l’explication pourtant évidente : c’est pour partie une affaire de droit commun et pour le reste un coup de main proto-fasciste. Rien d’autre. L’aspect le plus clair est celui de la délinquance. Dans quel autre pays civilisé des énergumènes se mettent-ils, pour … Read more