Guido at Google
Alex Martelli
aleax at mail.comcast.net
Thu Dec 22 12:03:49 EST 2005
<bonono at gmail.com> wrote:
...
> So exactly how high is python in Google's priority list ? Or in other
> words, if python is in a stand still as it is now, what would be the
> impact to Google ? As an outsider, I can only base on public info, like
And so can I, as an insider, when I communicate with people who are not
employed by Google nor have signed non-disclosure agreements.
> a press release mentioning Guido has been hired.
If only press releases count, then I believe Google has made few hires
in 2005 -- Elliot Schrage, Johnny Chou, and Vint Cerf, would be about
it, I believe (e.g., I can't even see any press release specifically
about our hiring Kai Fu Lee at http://googlepress.blogspot.com, though
he's mentioned in the press release about Chou).
> > An example of rhetorical question:
> > "Do you really think that a specific technology [including a software
> > one, such as a programming language] cannot have, in certain cases,
> > *extremely high* strategic priority for organizations with thousands of
> > employees?"
...
> Surprisingly, I don't see this as an rhetorical question at all. It is
Then you don't know what "rhetorical question" means; you'll find many
explanations on the web, but one of my favorite is "a question that
conveys a point rather than expects an answer", which is exactly what
this example IS. ((I don't personally find it all that surprising that
you don't know what a given English expression means)).
> quite netural to me as a "I don't agree with you" without indication of
> silliness, just a style of writing.
As I said, and I quote:
> > Rhetorical questions are a perfectly legitimate style of writing
although they can be overused, or weakened if they're fuzzy or badly
expressed. More specifically, a rhetorical question may often be used
"for effect" and emphasis, as several of the definitions you'll find on
the web mention.
Alex
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