Humans Quote by Larry Wall
“Natural languages generally are not designed by humans, they're just designed by the participants and you say something new and somebody else says, "Oh, that's a cool way to say it," and the next thing you know, everyone is saying it because it's shiny.”
About This Quote
Source Interview: 1990s Programming Talk
Language evolves organically through community use, not top‑down design.
In simple terms: Languages grow from how people actually use them.
Key Takeaway
Embrace community feedback.
Themes
language evolution
community
innovation
Mood
analytical
enthusiastic
Type
observational
philosophical
When to use this quote
- software development
- online forums
- open source projects
- tech education
Key Concepts
emergent design
memetics
collaboration
Questions to Reflect On
- How does community influence shape language standards?
- What are the risks of unstructured evolution?
A Different Perspective
May overlook deliberate design goals.
