<<There are a class of "ideal attractors" in engineering, concepts like "everything is an object," "homoiconicity," "purely functional," "pure capability system," etc. Engineers fall into orbit around these ideas quite easily. Systems that follow these principles often get useful properties out of the deal.
However, going too far in any of these directions is also a great way to find a deep reservoir of unsolved problems, which is part of why these are popular directions in academia.
In the interest of shipping, we are consciously steering around unsolved problems, even when it means we lose some attractive features.>>
<<There are a class of "ideal attractors" in engineering, concepts like "everything is an object," "homoiconicity," "purely functional," "pure capability system," etc. Engineers fall into orbit around these ideas quite easily. Systems that follow these principles often get useful properties out of the deal.
However, going too far in any of these directions is also a great way to find a deep reservoir of unsolved problems, which is part of why these are popular directions in academia.
In the interest of shipping, we are consciously steering around unsolved problems, even when it means we lose some attractive features.>>