XPost: rec.arts.sf.written, rec.arts.books   
   From: b.scott@csuohio.edu   
      
   On Sat, 24 Aug 2013 00:11:58 GMT, Wayne Throop   
    wrote in  in   
   rec.arts.sf.written,rec.arts.sf.movies,rec.arts.books:   
      
   [...]   
      
   > Trying to minimize the utility by referencing historical   
   > accident and implying that the choice of endian-ness is   
   > arbitrary is a fairly common ploy (and, to be fair,   
   > effective in some cases, though in reality no more   
   > relevant than pointing out the old roman legion meaning   
   > of "decimate" to prove something about what it means   
   > today).   
      
   However, using the history to explain *why* something is as   
   it is is perfectly legitimate and not at all like the   
   etymological fallacy.   
      
   > But then, that's why they're called the "endian wars".   
   > Because some misguided people think littleendian is   
   > sensible for one or more of these kinds of reasons.  Much   
   > like some misguided people think emacs is sensible.   
      
   You have a tendency to undervalue human reasons, like habit   
   and custom.  Sometimes it really is sensible to bow to them.   
      
   > But really, the fact that you often say "the fifth" or   
   > "August fifth" (because the year is obvious from context)   
      
   Don’t forget ‘fifth August’!   
      
   > isn't really an argument in favor of littleendianism when   
   > adding the year explicitly.   
      
   It is, actually, if one uses dates without the year often   
   enough; how strong an argument will of course depend on   
   one’s needs and preferences.  However, in my previous post I   
   was offering it more as an explanation than as an argument.   
      
   > I mean, if you are trying to explain where a time   
   > displaced person came from (when the displacement is   
   > large-ish), you'd probably first and foremost want to   
   > know what year, hence "he came from ninteen fifty three,   
   > in August" (if you're putting what most important/useful   
   > first) or whatnot (depending on how much precision is   
   > wanted).  I mean, rather than "he came from the fifth of   
   > August, in ninteen fifty three". You know.  Practical   
   > everyday stuff like that...   
      
   On the other hand, in a different context:   
      
   ‘It happened in August.  The fifth, I think.  What?  Oh,   
   nineteen fifty-three.’   
      
   > But I digress.  There is a certain amount of sense in   
   > bigendianism for many sorts of things.  In discussing   
   > quantities in practical terms, starting with the big end   
   > means you get the general ballpark quickly, and it fades   
   > into exponent/mantissa notations smoothly. To me, that   
   > seems very useful indeed.[1] Obviously, other folks'   
   > mileage varies, but what can you expect from those of the   
   > littleendian persuasion?   
      
   It isn’t so much that other folks’ mileage varies as that   
   the mileage can depend on the context.   
      
   Brian   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)