“But even the hacker who works alone,” said Master Foo, “collaborates with others, and must constantly communicate clearly to them, lest his work become confused and lost.”
“Of what others do you speak?” the Prodigy demanded.
Master Foo said: “All your future selves.”
—Eric S. Raymond, “Master Foo and the Programming Prodigy”
When my parents refurbished the wooden panels on the house in the 1980s, my mother deposited a newspaper in between the wall and the new panels. When I wondered what my mom was doing, she explained: “ This is our message into the future. Whoever will be the next to replace the ...
