The title Doom Book (Old English dōm-bōc) comes from the Old English word dōm meaning judgment or law – as in Alfred’s admonishment to “Doom… Read More »Public holidays and compensation for body parts, 9th century edition; Or, King Alfred and the Book of Doom
In the Homeric account of the virtues — and in heroic societies more generally — the exercise of a virtue exhibits qualities which are required… Read More »Alasdair MacIntyre on virtue and practices (1): What is a practice?
1) “90% of everything is crud.”* 2) “Nothing is absolutely so.” Theodore Sturgeon Law number one is most useful for rebutting (or ignoring) attacks on… Read More »Sturgeon’s law(s)
Bikeshedding is this idea that if you have a tremendously complicated project such as a nuclear power station nobody wants to have an opinion on… Read More »Bikeshedding, code-narratology and teamwork
I came across both of these posts in the last week, and they both highlight the problem of bad legislation. I recommend both – which… Read More »Market Economics: Slate Star Codex on Drugs Vs Chairs and The Grumpy Economist on Paying for Public Toilets
A spec sets standards and defines output, and laws set the boundaries of acceptable behaviour. They are indispensable, but here’s the thing: specs and laws… Read More »Specs, laws and floors