Without Deeds, Without Names(laphamsquarterly.org)

29 points by toomuchtodo 12 hours ago | 7 comments

  • keiferski 11 hours ago
    This article reminds me of medieval cathedrals, which (from what I understand) were basically built by craftsmen that were functionally anonymous. These incredible achievements were made without any real desire for fame or desire to be remembered posthumously, by name.

    It made me wonder if there are any analogous projects in the modern world. Doesn’t seem like there is anything in the architectural realm, but maybe we could consider things like subway systems and infrastructure to be along the same lines, just with modern industrial values and not medieval ones.

    Wikipedia sort of counts, in the software world.

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    • WJW 11 hours ago
      Isn't pretty much everything in the world like this? I have no idea who built my house, designed the road network in my city, programmed the driver for the keyboard I'm typing this comment on. Even for "big" projects, I don't think anyone except for a small group of people would know (without looking it up) the name of the lead engineer of the A380 project, or the person who was in charge of designing the ISS. Even less people will know the names of the people who actually built those things. Almost everyone in the modern world is functionally anonymous.
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      • keiferski 3 hours ago
        Sure, but I meant more in the sense of a giant project that is aesthetically impressive and will exist long after the creators’ lives.
    • brazukadev 11 hours ago
      Yes. git is a gift Linus gave to humanity.
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      • wizzwizz4 10 hours ago
        Linus Torvalds started the Git project, but soon handed it over to another developer. Pop quiz: what was this developer's name?
  • titanomachy 9 hours ago
    Title should have (~1330 CE)?
  • txrx0000 8 hours ago
    Reality over propriety.

    ...seems to be the sentiment expressed here: there is so much more of everything else to care about than money and fame.

    But there is also value in caring about those things a little bit. Propriety is a part of reality after all. We just have to be careful not to delude ourselves into thinking that it's the other way around.