The Age of the Essay

bluFox writes "Paul Graham, has just published a new article on the English literature and role of Essays. It is not connected to lisp or languages or hackers for a change, but still feels like a continuation of his earlier articles."

"still feels like a continuation"...

[tcopeland]

...can't beat that LISP humor!

Well, that's ironic...

[Weaselmancer]

...'cause I just published an essay on English literature and the role of articles.

" Who cares about symbolism in Dickens? "

[slashpot]

Beavis and Butthead.
That's who.
hay(na)ku!

Re:Impact of Blogs

[Dark Lord Seth]

Blogs? Essays?

Oh, wait... You're referring to the 3% minority of blogs that are NOT about the cat, the latest Linkin Park song* or that cute "boi" at high school? Okay, carry on.

* -- I use that term lightly in this case...

I hate essays

[grunt107]

To start, essays are an ill fit in my life.

The proof is that I am ignorant and apathetic: I don't know how to write and essay, and I don't care.

In conclusion, essays are not a favorite of mine.

For the next article...

[pyrrhonist]

In a follow-up article, he will claim [paulgraham.com] that, "Python programmers write better essays than Java programmers".

Re:For the next article...

[Jerf]

I don't know about "better":

but I will bet they are better indented.

(BTW, python lover [google.com], so I get to say this. :-) )

python -c "import this"

seems appropriate, though it is not well indented.

Great Essayists use Python

[Timesprout]

Every great essayist I know, given a choice only writes essays in Python. English is for the common peasant, yes you can write an essay in it but it will be crap. Great essayists are far more productive when they use Python and if you advertise the fact you are writing in Python the standard of essayists you get will be much higher.

Re:The problem I have with essays....

[daeley]

1. the spelling and grammar is correct.

The spelling and grammar are correct. Mostly. Sorry, couldn't resist. ;)

Re:The problem I have with essays....

[rokzy]

lol, I was treating "spelling and grammar" as a single thing thus "is".

isn't that allowed?

Paul Graham is always right!

[Anonymous Coward]

Hi, I'm Paul Graham.
Here are a few rules:
1. Everything I know is right
2. Everything I do is right
3. For responses to counter-arguments see #1 and #2.

Sincerly,
me.

Re:"With the result..."

[e9th]

Thanks, Mr. Grammar Man, but at this time I am only accepting criticism from those who can spell "sentence" correctly.

Re:Where's Arc, Paul?

[Anonymous Coward]

For a language to stand some chance of success these days, it needs a lively developer community.

Never mind that, it needs to exist first!

Re:The problem I have with essays....

[ebyrob]

No. Go to your room.

Now if you'd put spelling/grammer, you might've gotten away wit it.

Re:"With the result..."

[e9th]

Sorry. At this time I am only accepting criticism from those who can spell "complete" correctly.