IBWCL is dated, true, but it's still an excellent essay, and I would argue required reading for anyone learning about programming, computing, and/or UX/UI. If nothing else, it provides an excellent understanding of what abstractions are, and what sort of tradeoffs you make by using one, while still being more or less comprenhensible to the layman, unlike Steve Yegge, who covers more programming-specific topics, although often of the same nature.
Knowing this stuff is important, because in computing, abstractions are pretty much what we do. We build them, manipulate them, argue about them, consider them harmful, and continue to travel up and down the endless stack of turtles. Knowing why the endless stack of turtles exists is important and useful, and that's part of what this essay provides.
Knowing this stuff is important, because in computing, abstractions are pretty much what we do. We build them, manipulate them, argue about them, consider them harmful, and continue to travel up and down the endless stack of turtles. Knowing why the endless stack of turtles exists is important and useful, and that's part of what this essay provides.