Java By Comparison

There are only two hard problems in Computer Science: cache invalidation and naming things.

Phil Karlton

Chapter 4Name Things Right

In Norwegian, the term for “moose” is “elg.” When the first northern settlers from Europe came to North America and saw this huge elg-like animal in the forest, they decided: “Okay, that’s gonna be the elg here” (or elk, as it’s spelled in English). Turns out, they were completely wrong. The settlers happened to meet a wapiti first—a totally different kind of deer. There is a close relative to the European “elg” in North America, but it’s the moose. Up to the present day, this little naming error leads to profound confusion between North American and European friends of the wilderness, and it leads to a discussion ...