Tim Mason
2004-03-16 13:33:05 UTC
Plato (in the Phaedrus, quoting Socrates) was railing against book
learning, not the recording of facts. The full quotation is worth
reading:
"If men learn this [writing], it will implant forgetfulness in their
souls; they will cease to exercise memory because they rely on that
which is written, calling things to remembrance no longer from within
themselves, but by means of external marks." Books, "by telling them of
many things without teaching them" will make students "seem to know
much, while for the most part they know nothing, and as men filled, not
with wisdom, but with the conceit of wisdom, they will be a burden to
their fellows. Then anyone who leaves behind him a written manual, and
likewise anyone who takes it over from him, on the supposition that such
writing will provide something reliable and permanent, must be
exceedingly simple-minded."
I'd say that a software development project results in a collection of
facts and artefacts that must be traceable. Trouble is: without writing
down these facts, there is no traceability.
In pre- or semi-literate societies, people tend to have more powerful
and reliable memories than in literate societies. We have spent our
lives in a literate society, and thus have not developed our memories
well enough to NOT rely on writing.
Mind you, I'd agree with Plato that book (or on-line) learning in
isolation is no good.
For more information about AM, visit the Agile Modeling Home Page at www.agilemodeling.com
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learning, not the recording of facts. The full quotation is worth
reading:
"If men learn this [writing], it will implant forgetfulness in their
souls; they will cease to exercise memory because they rely on that
which is written, calling things to remembrance no longer from within
themselves, but by means of external marks." Books, "by telling them of
many things without teaching them" will make students "seem to know
much, while for the most part they know nothing, and as men filled, not
with wisdom, but with the conceit of wisdom, they will be a burden to
their fellows. Then anyone who leaves behind him a written manual, and
likewise anyone who takes it over from him, on the supposition that such
writing will provide something reliable and permanent, must be
exceedingly simple-minded."
I'd say that a software development project results in a collection of
facts and artefacts that must be traceable. Trouble is: without writing
down these facts, there is no traceability.
In pre- or semi-literate societies, people tend to have more powerful
and reliable memories than in literate societies. We have spent our
lives in a literate society, and thus have not developed our memories
well enough to NOT rely on writing.
Mind you, I'd agree with Plato that book (or on-line) learning in
isolation is no good.
For more information about AM, visit the Agile Modeling Home Page at www.agilemodeling.com
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