Shanti’s Dispatches

Image via: frederator.kz

DHH on the language of bias:

If you don’t like something new that’s getting a lot of attention, you call it out as being all hype propelled by fanboys enamoured by an immature solution.

If you like that something new, you say it has momentum that’s being accelerated by passionate advocates of a fresh approach.

I’ve wanted to write about this for a while now. Flamebaiters can sometimes be pretty good at getting us fanboys riled up at times.

The Problem is not with Being a Fanboy, but with thinking you have the One True Solution

… and thus not realizing you are being a total, utter fanboy. (says a self-proclaimed fanboy of a variety of things)

I remember several experiences over the years where I’ve been chatting with a fellow hacker, and they were simply whole-heartedly dismissive / arrogant / belittling of some idea / framework / technology that I was either expressing interest in or personal ussage of.

To be honest, I’m sure I’ve been on the other end — and I know that feeling sucks, when someone pretty much puts you down like that.

The thing to remember is that whichever side of whatever debate you’re on, it’s always shades of grey and hues of advantages/disadvantages, depending on the situation.

Top 3 Signs You’re Dealing with a Delusional Fanboy

1. If you meet someone who’s using ad hominen attacks against your ideas, instead of addressing real issues, well, run for the hills if you have the option.

2. If you ask the person tough, pointed questions about weaknesses you believe they have in their viewpoint/argument, and they fail to admit one single weakness or disadvantage, chances are they are a delusional fanboy.

Let’s face it — nothing is perfect. To be a truly passionate, responsible advocate for something, you must know it’s weaknesses as well as its strengths.

3. The person expresses their opinions as if they were fact.

Can one benchmark their opinion/fact? Okay, if there are published benchmarks then at least we have some data points.

If it’s something much more nebulous and varies from person to person (i.e. programmer productivity in various languages), one can’t simply say “VBScript with Lisp Closures is clearly the most productive language”, etc.

You can bookmark this, digg this or check the cosmos