Re: Emacs learning curve

[Drew Adams]

> BTW, the red/green issue is more real than you seem to think. Have you
> developed a GUI (or any sort of visual interface) that uses colors for
> communicating critical info? A color-blind subject could argue that
> you are being perverse when using red and green for displaying info,
> no matter you refer to them by the "right" names on the manual.

Sigh.  I was afraid of this.  You are probably not truly missing the point (I
hope), but you are certainly acting as if you were.  Mauvaise foi, it must be.

If I had picked black/white you would be saying that I am not sensitive to race
issues - or that I am too sensitive.  Spare me the lecture that you hope
presents you with an easy out and skirts the issue - too facile.

FWIW, I work with UI accessibility everyday.  I am well aware of the need to
avoid use of color to convey info that is not conveyed any other way.
Everything I produce at work must pass WCAG, FRA508 (US), and other
accessibility guidelines (Oracle's guidelines are a superset).

You have raised a red herring (yes red, not green ;-)).  This is not about
red/green color sensitivity or UI accessibility.  NOT AT ALL.

Think red end of the E-M spectrum vs blue end, if it helps.  The point is that
there are some distinctions that do not have the same degree of relativity as
up/down.  One person's red end of the spectrum is the same end of the spectrum
as another person's red end of the spectrum.  Whether they both see the same
thing (or anything at all) when they look at a given color is another story.

Forget the sophistry and think through the arguments.  Yes, everything is
relative, including relativity of all sorts; quantity does turn into quality;
black can be white; and positive can be negative.  The universe (and
anti-universe) are dialectical at all levels, and all levels emerge and
interpenetrate.  Now back to your regularly scheduled program.

 "There is a fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to man.
  It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity.
  It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science
  and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and
  the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination.
  It is an area which we call The Twilight Zone."   - Rod Serling