Re: Best of the Best Users in Perlmonks site

I'm surprised to see my name at the top of any such list. Honestly, it makes me a little uneasy; I've done so little compared to others here. The fact that I would appear toward the top of an XP progress list shows that you shouldn't make too much about the numbers. It reminds me of the old saying that has been attributed to, among others, Mark Twain:

There are three types of lies - Lies, damn lies, and stastics.

Mark Twain might even feel uneasy seeing that credited to him; apparently there is some confusion as to who said it first.¹

Anyway, as I was saying... I don't really think I've given as much as I've received from the Monastery. It all just goes to show that XP doesn't really represent anything important, and depending on how you analyze and compare "MonkStats", you can tell many different stories.

Frankly, I feel that I've gotten more out of most of my posts than the sum total of all those who have read them; the questions posted here inspired me to dig into the documents and figure things out for myself. I hope that along the way a few others have learned something too, but more importantly, I hope that the aggregate of all answers provided by all individuals at PerlMonks inspires other people to look at new approaches, and to continue asking inspring questions so that others here -- and to a small degree, I -- can continue pushing forward the collective learning curve.

Dave

^1. According to this blog, the quote, "There are three types of lies - lies, damn lies, and statistics." has been attributed to Benjamin Disraeli, Alfred Marshall, Mark Twain and "many other dead people."

Comment on Re: Best of the Best Users in Perlmonks site

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Re^2: Best of the Best Users in Perlmonks site by McDarren (Abbot) on Jan 20, 2006 at 07:21 UTC
I feel that I've gotten more out of most of my posts than the sum total of all those who have read them; the questions posted here inspired me to dig into the documents and figure things out for myself. I have to agree wholeheartedly with those sentiments. Although I'm still very new to the Monastery, I feel that I've learned so much simply by looking at questions posted to SOPW, and trying to work out the answers for myself. Sometimes I post my answers, and sometimes I don't. But regardless, I find that I learn something new almost every day.	[reply]
Re^2: Best of the Best Users in Perlmonks site by ptum (Priest) on Jan 20, 2006 at 15:21 UTC
Frankly, I feel that I've gotten more out of most of my posts than the sum total of all those who have read them; the questions posted here inspired me to dig into the documents and figure things out for myself. I think this is a very common response, and I concur with it wholeheartedly. ("I knew I should have concurred ... why didn't I concur?" -- a loose quote from my vague memories of Catch Me If You Can.) One of the things that makes PerlMonks work is that it is not a zero-sum game ... the time I spend at PM is often the most productive part of my day. The two minutes someone spends dashing off a quick reply to a question can potentially have a hundred-fold return for the OP, and the ripples spread throughout the monastery. Another contributor to the success of PerlMonks is proper self-perception, or humility ... I think that a lot of the high-XP monks continue to benefit from the other members because they don't fall into the trap of thinking they have all the answers. I know that I come here more often to learn something I didn't know I needed to learn, than to get an answer for a particular question. There is, after all, more than one way to be a PerlMonk. :) No good deed goes unpunished. -- (attributed to) Oscar Wilde	[reply]
Re^2: Best of the Best Users in Perlmonks site by hv (Prior) on Jan 20, 2006 at 15:39 UTC
There are three types of lies - Lies, damn lies, and stastics. The ODQ says Mark Twain attributed it to Disraeli in his autobiography, which would explain at least some of the confusion. Hugo	[reply]


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