At 01:03 PM 2/10/2005, you wrote:
> This is the kind of thing Mike means by needing to know how you are
> invoking the transformation.
Yes, it's partly a polite way of trying to find out if people have done
something really stupid, without asking them if they are really stupid. But
also, when people tell you the whole story, the answer leaps out at you:
"Ah, you're using the deprecated saxon:widget feature! That was never
intended to work with saxon:gadget!".
Well yes, exactly. "Stupidity" turns out to be very context-dependent,
especially when the context is as rarified as this one.
Personally I find it remarkable and interesting how the "stupidity" seems
to be regarded as such a contemptible vice, at least in Western culture.
(Or maybe it's more universal: calling someone stupid is one of the worst
things you can say to them in Japan, too.) Particularly as our endeavors
get more and more arcane, and we all grow more and more stupid as a
consequence. (I dread the day, coming soon I fear, when it will be regarded
as "stupid" not to have internalized the XSD data-typing specifications.)
Better simply to acknowledge that it's good practice to be thorough ... it
feels much more stupid to find the stupid error after days of looking for a
smart one, when one might have found it immediately. I always try to assume
first I'm making the stupid mistake: it keeps me looking smart, because I
find the inevitable stupidities more quickly with less fuss. Sometimes I'm
the only one who knows how dumb I am.
Cheers,
Wendell
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Wendell Piez
mailto:wapiez(_at_)mulberrytech(_dot_)com
Mulberry Technologies, Inc. http://www.mulberrytech.com
17 West Jefferson Street Direct Phone: 301/315-9635
Suite 207 Phone: 301/315-9631
Rockville, MD 20850 Fax: 301/315-8285
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Mulberry Technologies: A Consultancy Specializing in SGML and XML
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