I would probably use "grandparents'" as in "not your grandparents' programming language". -- Sent from: http://forum.world.st/Pharo-Smalltalk-Users-f1310670.html

If you were coining a new phrase, the charge of sexism might have some dubious merit. (Since it implies that your grandfather is still using outdated stuff, it is derogatory to males.) However, the phrase "not your grandfather's <whatever>" is widely used to mean "this is not at all an old-fashioned <whatever>", whereas no such phrase with "grandmother" or "grandparent" exists. Accordingly, "not your grandparents' <whatever>" would - fail to connect with the popular phrase - and therefore sound significantly worse, - make you look pretentious when the penny finally dropped, and - detract from your message by focussing attention on the phrase instead of your meaning. Tell your critic to stop bothering you and go volunteer to help defend Iran. "There is no grammatical gender in Persian, and pronouns are not marked for natural gender." (Wikipedia article on the Persian languages.) Rather than pandering to your critic's attempt to exercise linguistic hegemony over you, you might like to find another way to say "40 years later, other programming languages haven't caught up yet." There *were* electric vehicles in my grandfathers' day. Maseratis back then look very primitive now. https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maserati_Tipo_26#/media/File:Maserati_Tipo_26.... And people *do* dream of owning a Tesla. At more than my annual pay before I retired, I can only dream. Heck, I bought a *house* for less than a Tesla. The last car I personally bought, I could buy *SEVENTY* of them for the price of a new Tesla. If you can buy a Tesla, you've arrived, Clive. You're eco-pure, Muir. No longer a schlub, Bub. You *sneer* at Maserati owners; they may have more money, but you're *better* than them. I would also suggest that you are in the least concerned about sexism, using expensive cars might just be more provocative than the word "grandfather". Hot-air balloons are old. They are also a modern sport and quite technical. Oh, wait. "The incidence of morbidity and mortality is high among hot-air balloon tour crashes, and the proportion of balloon crashes attributed to paid rides appears to have increased over time." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4888601/ Look, you *can't* please everybody. Do work you're proud of, run it up the flagpole, and maybe you'll get a home run. On Tue, 7 Jan 2020 at 09:18, horrido <horrido.hobbies@gmail.com> wrote:

Thanks!

I have a question for everyone. Someone has taken me to task for being "sexist". He says I should refer to "grandparent" instead of "grandfather".

I'd like to ask for your opinion. Would "grandparent" sound better in my article? Imagine replacing all instances of "grandfather" with "grandparent". Would it have the same impact?

Thanks.

Lorenzo wrote

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Great work Rich!!!!

My best compliments.

Lorenzo

Da: Pharo-users [mailto:

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pharo-users-bounces@.pharo

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] Per conto di Richard Kenneth Eng Inviato: lunedì 6 gennaio 2020 19:07 A:

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pharo-users@.pharo

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Oggetto: [Pharo-users] Smalltalk: It’s Not Your Grandfather’s Programming Language

https://levelup.gitconnected.com/smalltalk-its-not-your-grandfather-s-progra...

-- Sent from: http://forum.world.st/Pharo-Smalltalk-Users-f1310670.html

The problem is that the underlying premise of my article would be undermined. Our grandparents had nothing like the Tesla. I used Maserati because it's an /aspirational/ car. Not practical. Not cheap. But droolworthy. Nobody dreams of owning a Tesla. But Maserati? Bugatti? Porsche? Aston Martin? You bet! tbrunz wrote

Richard! Smalltalk is /the electric car of development systems/!

You need to lead with an image of a *Tesla Model S*, not a Maserati!

What do most people associate with Italian sports cars? Expensive, impractical, temperamental, always in need of (expensive) maintenance, etc.

Smalltalk is none of these things... Inexpensive, more practical than most people imagine, robust and resilient, minimal maintenance, etc. It's more like a trusty sports utility vehicle -- so maybe an image of a Tesla Model X (or Y) fits even better.

Another way Smalltalk is like an e-car: Electric cars extremely popular when automobiles were new, fell out of favor, are today misunderstood by the majority, but are being "rediscovered" and found to better in almost every way compared to "what's popular" (ICE vehicles). Those who drive them just LOVE them, and so the stage is set for the rEVolution: the renaissance of electric cars.

And so it is for Smalltalk.

tl;dr: Smalltalk:e-cars::Pharo:Tesla

-- Sent from: http://forum.world.st/Pharo-Smalltalk-Users-f1310670.html

-- Sent from: http://forum.world.st/Pharo-Smalltalk-Users-f1310670.html

I've made the change from grandfather to grandparent. Unfortunately, I cannot alter the URL — it still reads grandfather. As much as I would like to use Tesla, the problem is that our grandparents never drove electric. Without rewriting a substantial portion of the article, I cannot make a connection between grandparent and Tesla. It would be too awkward. I want my article to be elegant. That's the hallmark of my writing style. tbrunz wrote

I don't think so... In the early 1900's some of the finest and most sought-after automobiles were battery-powered electrics: https://www.curbed.com/2017/9/22/16346892/electric-car-history-fritchle

You want to associate with the prestige of being a manly, winning, race car? Okay: Sept 7, 1896: The very first automobile race held on a track in the U.S. was won by... an electric car. https://insideevs.com/news/339638/on-this-day-in-ev-history-electric-car-win...

It does fit your premise: One third of our grandparents (for those of us

...

50 at least) drove electric cars [opcit]. Then their popularity waned as ICE vehicles grabbed everyone's attention. Now, e-cars are all the rage again.

Tesla is *the* aspirational vehicle: Last year GM sales declined 2.3%. Last year Ford sales declined 3%. Tesla sales? Tesla sales not only increased last year, but have grown 47 *times* in 7 years! Holy smokes!!! Talk about explosive success and popularity! https://cleantechnica.com/2020/01/03/tesla-sales-grew-47x-in-7-years/

Everyone dreams of owning a Tesla. (I'm buying mine next year, when my Bolt goes off lease...) Those other cars are "unobtainium". Flights of fancy. Dream about them? Maybe, but no one is every serious about actually buying one and driving it for themselves.

Electric cars are a "disruptive" technology in the process of remaking the auto industry world-wide -- and all for the better.

And so it is with Smalltalk, yes? I suggest associating Smalltalk with a real-world, world-changing, growing-in-popularity technology that's taking people from skeptical nay-sayers to enthusiastic true believers -- not a pie-in-the-sky, would-be-nice-but-can't-happen-to-me bit of testosterone-infused wimsy. Smalltalk is The Real Deal. Something you can obtain and DRIVE!

-- Sent from: http://forum.world.st/Pharo-Smalltalk-Users-f1310670.html

-- Sent from: http://forum.world.st/Pharo-Smalltalk-Users-f1310670.html

And it's a very good view, indeed. I thank you for bringing it to my attention. I was particularly impressed by the "revival" aspect of e-cars because, as you said, Smalltalk is due for a revival, as well. This may actually lead to a sequel article! I am always amazed that I can still come up with new ideas for articles. After 5 years, you'd think I'd run out of ideas. In fact, I actually thought I did. Surprises never cease. tbrunz wrote

Understood... It is, of course, your essay, and my comments are just my own view.

And I think I've made my point, which is what I wanted to get across.

I like your writing style, Richard. You're making a huge contribution to Smalltalk/Pharo and it's much appreciated. Please continue!

-t

-- Sent from: http://forum.world.st/Pharo-Smalltalk-Users-f1310670.html

-- Sent from: http://forum.world.st/Pharo-Smalltalk-Users-f1310670.html

We could agree to a win-win solution, "a' la Franklin Covey" designing an automotive market solution, written in Smalltalk, for Maserati (Modena), Tesla (Palo Alto) and why not Ferrari (Maranello). All automotive brand will migrate their lines to full electric or hybrid models. What do Smalltalk needs to replace C[++]/Java in automotive market solutions ? (I saw either Ferrari & Maserati buildings and/or plants, I had to plan a trip to Palo Alto ... and Hawtorne, for SpaceX) Bye, Davide On 06/01/2020 20:59, tbrunz wrote:

Richard! Smalltalk is /the electric car of development systems/!

You need to lead with an image of a *Tesla Model S*, not a Maserati!

What do most people associate with Italian sports cars? Expensive, impractical, temperamental, always in need of (expensive) maintenance, etc.

Smalltalk is none of these things... Inexpensive, more practical than most people imagine, robust and resilient, minimal maintenance, etc. It's more like a trusty sports utility vehicle -- so maybe an image of a Tesla Model X (or Y) fits even better.

Another way Smalltalk is like an e-car: Electric cars extremely popular when automobiles were new, fell out of favor, are today misunderstood by the majority, but are being "rediscovered" and found to better in almost every way compared to "what's popular" (ICE vehicles). Those who drive them just LOVE them, and so the stage is set for the rEVolution: the renaissance of electric cars.

And so it is for Smalltalk.

tl;dr: Smalltalk:e-cars::Pharo:Tesla

-- Sent from: http://forum.world.st/Pharo-Smalltalk-Users-f1310670.html

-- Ing. Davide Grandi email : davide.grandi@email.it mobile : +39 339 7468 778

Hi Hilaire, I would put it this way: Smalltalk is to other programming languages as electric cars are to other vehicles. I.e., superior in countless ways, and becoming the favored technology as adoption increases. Within the realm of Smalltalk varieties, Pharo is the sexy, popular leader, just as within the realm of electric cars, Tesla is the sexy, popular leader. Or, "Smalltalk : Electric Cars :: Pharo : Tesla" to put it succinctly. And to continue the metaphor (why not?), this makes Stef "our Elon Musk": Creative, fearless, tireless, and dedicated to a vision that benefits humanity. The only question is, what will Stef send to Mars on a rocket? (How about a rover control system written in Pharo???) -- Sent from: http://forum.world.st/Pharo-Smalltalk-Users-f1310670.html