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Re: [emacs-humanities] Why Emacs-humanities?


From: Alan Davis
Subject: Re: [emacs-humanities] Why Emacs-humanities?
Date: Sun, 20 Dec 2020 12:20:59 -0800

Emacs is central to everything I do on computers.  I do some lightweight
"programming," as I have elected to embrace Free Software and eschew
proprietary software.  In part, this has been based on economic need.  I
have worked as a science teacher---using proprietary software for
grade-reporting and attendance, keeping grades sometimes in Orgmode
spreadsheets, and other times using Free Software spreadsheets like
Gnumeric; often tools were available on a popular proprietary system, but I
have chosen to keep the faith.  Sometimes that is painful, as exemplified
by the recalcitrant attitude of printer manufacturers toward Free operating
systems.  I have taught others to use GNU/Linux, and emacs, some of them
students, more often other teachers; but "they are putting up
resistance."

Almost all of my work involves some element of self-denial of proprietary
tools used by others; in almost every instance,Emacshas been the goto
support for writing, for any typing I have needed to do.   I have written
published works using Emacs.  I am an independent life-long learner, , and
I produce graphics using the Gri Graphics Programming Language and R.  Gri
is an edge case.  A gri-mode exists, but the infrastructure even of emacs
has forced compromises to some extent, with tools that assume the user is
editing in one of the mainstream programming languages.  I am thinking of
comment editing tools: due to my failure to comprehend the way commenting
is implemented in emacs, I have struggled with my desire to write comments
for Gri with indented, multi-line comments, which would help me read my own
comments.   (I still plan to learn to use the org-mode literate programming
tools, but they too are somewhat challenging for me.

But I have recently reflected how much I appreciate the way emacs handles
keyboard entry, and how much we all suffer for our hands and fingers having
been bound by the way that, for example, one major software and operating
system behemoth has chosen to dumb down the way we can move the cursor when
we type.  When I use emacs, my fingers are able to fly, compared to the
pedestrian capacities provided by that elephant in the room, the
proprietary (now morphing into a subscription paradigm) word processor, and
the browsers and other typing infrastructure provided on a typical day on
the Internet, or at home.

I rely on LaTeX even for writing letters, using AUCTeX.  Orgmode is central
to my workflow as well.  Free software got me from the moment I read "The
GNU Manifesto" for the first time.  I have been inspired to carry the
message to others who, like me, have learned to use computers as our go to
tools, supporting whatever we do, no matter how mundane.   Often the path
has been blocked.  But bearing in mind that statement of solidarity, I have
been able to bear the load.   I only regret I have not given back more than
the trivial things I have.

I write, and I am not a programmer.  But I am a scientist.  Many other
scientists I know eschew Free Software---even under the softened rubric of
"Open Source Software"---which they see as hindering their creativity, or
offering a less flashy, less popular, less well-established, less
ubiquitous infrastructure.  They do not share my inspired point of view,
and they do not see that our work is undermined by the same tools that have
served as the step-ladders to their own success and aprobation.

I hope I do not come off as bitter; rather I am grateful, more grateful
than I can express.  I have had to scramble up steep curves to gain the
capacities I am able to bring to bear in my own little pantheon as
projects.

I am a humanist, I think; but I am not working in humanities.  Nevertheless
I look forward to joining with this community.

Alan Davis

On Sun, Dec 20, 2020 at 10:42 AM M. ‘quintus’ Gülker <
post+emacs-humanities@guelker.eu> wrote:

> Dear all,
>
> Am Sonntag, dem 20. Dezember 2020 schrieb Manuel Uberti:
> > I fall somewhere in the middle of the intended audience for a more
> > programming-oriented mailing list and this one, because I am Clojure
> developer
> > working on my degree in Philosophy.
>
> I think I am in a similar position. While I programme for the sake of
> hobby (in C++), I am currently employed as a scientific assistant in Law
> at a Chair for Public Law while intending to work towards a PhD. When I
> saw this list announcement I got interested. I took the liberty to
> expand the term "humanities" to include Law, but I hope this is
> accepted.
>
> > However, I intend to follow the discussions on this list, share my
> experience
> > and maybe help anyone who may approach Emacs for writing as I do
> (Markdown
> > mainly, but LaTeX too).
>
> I have used Emacs and LaTeX for all paper work the Law studies required
> and never looked back. The problem I now face is more practical and has
> made me switch to Org for authoring: publishers for scientific law
> journals generally expect everyone to submit Word documents. With Org, I
> can export to ODT and convert that to DOCX with LibreOffice. It works
> kind of, but problems remain (namely when the publisher follows up with
> changes in Word's change tracking mode...).
>
>   -quintus
>
> --
> Dipl.-Jur. M. Gülker | https://mg.guelker.eu |    For security:
> Passau, Germany      | kontakt@guelker.eu    | () Avoid HTML e-mail
> European Union       | PGP: see homepage     | /\ http://asciiribbon.org
>
>

-- 

      "This ignorance about the limits of the earth's ability to absorb
       pollutants should be reason enough for caution in the release
       of polluting substances."
                   ---Meadows et al.   1972.  Limits to Growth
<https://www.dartmouth.edu/~library/digital/publishing/meadows/ltg/>.
(p. 81)


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