codeless_code 0.1.2

data/data/the-codeless-code/en-qi/case-54.txt

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+Number: 54
+Date: 2012-09-02
+Title: Knots
+Geekiness: 1
+Names: Zjing, Hwídah, Yíwen, Zjing's Bridge
+Topics: refactoring, perfection
+Credits: Some textures in illustrations courtesy of <a href="http://fantasystock.deviantart.com">FantasyStock</a>.
+Illus.0.par: 0
+Illus.0.src: knots.jpg
+Illus.0.title: A quintuple-reverse backhanded floral shank knot with a twenty-degree overhand kink and a stabilizer cord.  This is the only knot I ever learned.  I didn't tie my shoes until I was thirty-five.
+Illus.0.style: padding-right: 10%
+Illus.1.par: 6
+Illus.1.src: Cliff.jpg
+Illus.1.title: I'm detecting a lack of urgency here.
+Illus.1.style: padding-right: 10%
+
+Two nuns were walking along a wooded trail not far from the
+temple, when they discovered to their mutual inconvenience
+that the path ended in a sudden drop down a steep-sided
+ravine.  The bottom of the ravine lay over two hundred feet
+below them; the cliff on the opposite side was nearly the
+same distance away.
+
+"I pray your patience, Hwídah," said the first nun, "For my mind has been
+overtaxed from memorizing too many APIs.  But was there not
+a rope bridge across the chasm at this point?"
+
+"I believe you are not mistaken, Yíwen," said the second nun.
+"As I recall it was a sturdy bridge, old and servicable, and
+indeed I had hoped that we would make use of it on our walk."
+
+- - -
+
+The wind whistled.
+
+"Again, take pity on me, Hwídah, for my eyes are
+weak from coding in the small hours.  But does that
+not appear to be the remains of the rope bridge on the far
+side of the chasm, dangling down the cliffside?"
+
+"I believe it is, Yíwen, and if you look to the two great
+trees on either side of our path you will see that a portion
+of the bridge dangles uselessly down our side of the chasm as
+well.  Notice how both halves, near and far, twist in the wind
+with a few meager footplanks still trapped here and there in
+the braids, banging fitfully against the rock face.  The
+sound calls to mind a wind chime that once hung outside my
+window..."
+
+- - -
+
+Both nuns paused to consider the knocking and scraping of
+the planks against the cliffside.
+
+"A hundred pardons, Hwídah, for my ears are used to little but
+the clattering of my keyboard.  But can you not also discern
+a voice upon the wind?"
+
+"I believe I can, Yíwen.  If you observe the ropes on the
+far side you will realize that [[Zjing]], a much-celebrated
+nun of our own order, is clinging to the end and shouting in
+our direction.  My impression is that she would be waving to
+attract our attention if her hands were not engaged in
+arresting her fall.  Let us not forget our manners."
+
+- - -
+
+Hwídah waved to the imperiled nun.  Yíwen did likewise.
+
+"I hope you will not think me unkind, Hwídah, but have you
+not found Zjing to be overmuch concerned with the aesthetics
+of code?  Members of our clan complain that she frequently
+refactors their modules merely because she believes the
+implementation to be insufficiently elegant."
+
+"I believe you are fair in your judgment, Yíwen.  While her
+goals are laudable, they are ever at odds with the
+complexities of our problem domain.  Indeed, her efforts
+have occasionally done more harm than good.  Still, that
+should not affect our decision to come to her aid."
+
+- - -
+
+Both nuns lingered at the cliff edge and reflected
+on how best to help their comrade.
+
+"Is it not bad fortune, Hwídah, that the breaking of the
+bridge has left us with no means to cross the chasm
+and effect a rescue?"
+
+"I believe it is most terrible, Yíwen, but if the bridge had
+truly /broken/ then the ropes would be frayed, yet I can
+see the finished ends quite clearly.  As I recall there was
+a lovely painted gate of red and gold at the exact midpoint
+of this bridge, and each half was secured to the gate by
+knots which have somehow come undone."
+
+- - -
+
+Hwídah pointed to the river far below, where the
+remains of the gate could be seen floating in an eddy.
+Yíwen nodded.
+
+"Is it not your recollection, Hwídah, that the knots which
+secured the ropes to that gate were lamentably large and
+ugly, and detracted from its beauty?"
+
+"I believe they were, Yíwen.  I expect that their ugliness
+would have been most tantalizing to one who cared about such
+things -- though it seems unlikely that anyone would be
+foolhardy enough to attempt re-tying the knots while
+standing at the bridge's center.  Speaking for myself, I
+never found the ugliness that troubling.  I was grateful
+merely to be able to cross the bridge.  Month in and month 
+out, it fulfilled its purpose most excellently."

data/data/the-codeless-code/en-qi/case-56.txt

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+Date: 2012-09-12
+Number: 56
+Title: Bear Necessities
+Names: Yíwen, Hwídah, Zjing, Elephant's Footprint Clan
+Topics: planning, management, production support
+Geekiness: 0
+Illus.0.src: bee.jpg
+Illus.0.par: 2
+
+Of all nuns at the temple, [[Yíwen]] and [[Hwídah]] were
+best known for being inseparable; for wherever one went, the
+other went also.  So when one of their order was discovered
+to be [[#54|dangling precariously by ropes halfway down a cliff]],
+Yíwen and Hwídah went together to
+seek the counsel of the abbot of the
+[[Elephant's Footprint Clan]].
+
+The abbot listened to the nuns' account with his feet
+propped up on his desk, polishing his spectacles with the
+fringe of his robe.  When the nuns finished the abbot
+pulled a battered electronic tablet out from under a sheaf
+of papers and launched an abacus program.  Fingers poised
+above the glass, he asked:
+
+"Hours required?"
+
+There was an uncomfortable pause.
+
+"A hundred pardons, sir," said Yíwen.  "But are you
+asking us to estimate the /effort/ of the rescue first?"
+
+"I believe that is his function," said Hwídah, "for I have
+heard him ask the same question of anyone who proposes
+changes to our software."  She fixed her eyes on the abbot.
+"A dozen monks and nuns, working for two days, should be
+sufficient to re-cross the chasm, haul up the remains of the
+bridge, and retrieve the unfortunate nun hanging off the
+end."
+
+"I cannot release so many from their duties," said the
+abbot.  "Proposals with a high level of effort require
+approval by the planning committee.  Come back in three
+weeks."
+
+The nuns exchanged glances.
+
+"A hundred more pardons for my insolence, sir," said Yíwen.
+"But in the interim, what shall we do about the imperiled nun?"
+
+"Fling cooked fish and water-skins across the ravine," said
+the abbot.  "Some of it is bound to fly within her grasp."
+
+"I believe," said Hwídah carefully and with evident irritation,
+"that to perform this activity a scant three
+times a day would waste many good fish and water-skins, as
+well as increasing the workload on the kitchen staff, the
+water carriers, the fishers, the tanners, and -- of course
+-- whoever is tasked to stand at the edge of the chasm and
+hurl comestibles until they find their target.  The
+cumulative cost in salmon alone is likely to far exceed
+that of a timely rescue."
+
+The abbot smiled sadly.  "When foraging for honey, the bear
+will happily endure a bee sting every morning of his long
+life.  But he cannot survive a thousand stings if they come
+all at once."
+
+When the nuns had left the abbot's office, Yíwen asked:
+
+"Does the abbot not know that it is the principal function
+of bears to /eat/ bees, and not flee from them?
+
+To which Hwídah replied:
+
+"Even so, the bear that cannot tell the difference between a
+dozen bees and a thousand will perish from fear in a
+forest dripping with sugar."

data/data/the-codeless-code/en-qi/case-57.txt

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+Date: 2012-09-16
+Number: 57
+Title: Precision
+Geekiness: 2
+Names: Bawan
+Topics: memory, infinity, numbers, precision
+Illus.0.src: brain.jpg
+Illus.0.par: 3
+Illus.0.title: The brain was in a jar marked 'Abby'-someone.
+
+A certain monk approached Java master [[Bawan]] at the
+end of the evening meal and demanded:
+
+"Is it not so that a computer's memory is, essentially,
+a finite sequence of bits?"
+
+"It is certain," said the master.
+
+"And if all computers in the world were brought together to
+labor on a task, then still the number of bits would be
+finite?"
+
+"Even so," said the master.
+
+"Then we can never hope to calculate perfectly with common
+irrational numbers such as pi or the square root of two, for
+they possess an /infinite/ number of digits!  Our
+approximations yield error upon error with each mathematical
+operation.  The exquisite profession of floating-point
+computation is but a fortress built upon quicksand!"
+
+Master Bawan rose to his feet, stared thoughtfully at the
+monk's waist for a moment{{*}}, then hurled his wooden rice
+bowl hard at the monk's stomach.  The monk doubled up.
+
+"Radius, five centimeters," said Bawan, indicating the bowl.
+"What is the circumference?"
+
+"10π," gasped the monk.
+
+"Astonishing," said Bawan.  "How unthinkably vast your brain
+must be, to juggle an infinite number of digits and
+arrive at an exact answer."
+
+
+
+
+{{*}} Bawan was notoriously short, which may explain his fondness for low-level details.

data/data/the-codeless-code/en-qi/case-58.txt

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+Date: 2012-09-19
+Number: 58
+Title: Enough to Hang Yourself By
+Geekiness: 2
+Names: Banzen, Djishin, Luohou, Clan of the Wolf's Bitter Breath
+Topics: testing, automated testing
+Illus.0.par: 14
+Illus.0.src: squirrel.jpg
+Illus.0.title: You are a good and kind master and I love you. SQUIRREL!
+
+Not much is said of the black-robed Clan of the Wolf's
+Bitter Breath, save this: no software could be sent beyond
+the borders of the temple unless it met with their approval
+first.  In the days following a release the sound of their
+footsteps sent so many monks scurrying that the Clan was
+forced to go barefoot, delivering their defect tickets by
+stealth in the darkest hour of night.
+
+So it was with some irritation that Java master [[Banzen]] --
+who prized correctness above all -- was forced to account
+for the repeated failures of the earnest monk [[Djishin]].
+
+- - -
+
+Master Banzen sent for Djishin, who found the master watching
+the sunset by the cliffside.
+
+Said Banzen: "The monks of the Wolf's Bitter Breath wish to
+know if the next iteration of the system is worthy of their
+attention.  They crave our assurance that it will not
+evidence critical flaws immediately after deployment, like
+so many of its predecessors."
+
+Said Djishin: "I declare the new system to be most worthy.
+In theory I have tested every place that the low-level
+components might fail, and all works as it should."
+
+Said Banzen: "It must be tedious to toil thus for days,
+clicking through user dialogs and examining log files."
+
+Said Djishin: "My testing is not done manually; you yourself
+have observed that such a method is slow and error-prone.
+Instead I have worked according to the Method of [[Luohou]]:
+all changes to DAOs and Services were verified during
+implementation by a comprehensive batallion of low-level
+automated tests.  For if the stones are sound, then the wall
+will stand."
+
+Said Banzen: "Go inform the monks, then.  They await you on
+the other side of the gorge."
+
+Banzen pointed across the great chasm which
+separated the cliff where they stood from the one opposite.
+
+Said Djishin: "How am I to cross?  The bridge was
+<a href="/case/54">destroyed by a foolish nun</a>
+and still hangs in tatters."
+
+Banzen indicated a slender rope stretched over
+the chasm between two saplings.
+
+Said Djishin: "But master, no one except the Emperor's
+own acrobats could balance on so narrow a cord."
+
+Banzen gestured to a coil of the same rope lying nearby on
+the ground, wound in a solid spiral a full yard across.
+The master put one foot in the center and lifted his other
+foot, remaining thus for a full minute.
+
+Djishin knew better than to accuse the master of unfairness,
+saying instead: "But the thin braid is dry and brittle.
+I do not believe it can bear my weight."
+
+Banzen knelt down, drawing span after span of the rope
+between his hands, demonstrating that the entire length was
+still unbroken after he had trod upon it.
+
+Again Djishin did not dare to dispute the master's argument,
+saying instead: "But your bridge is held in place by two
+green saplings.  The plants will surely be uprooted
+by my weight."
+
+Banzen produced an ocarina from his robe and blew a high
+chittering trill.  From the forest on the other side of
+the chasm bounded dozens upon dozens of squirrels.  One by one
+they leaped on the swaying cord and scurried across the
+divide.  When each squirrel arrived Banzen
+tossed it a lychee nut, whereupon the squirrel bowed low and
+disappeared into the trees, and the next one began the crossing.
+Djishin watched with amazement until the last squirrel had
+gone.
+
+Said Banzen: "Seeing as your foot is no larger than mine,
+your body no heavier than my own, and neither of us exceeds
+the weight of a hundred squirrels, I declare my bridge
+most worthy of your crossing.  In <i>theory.</i>  Now <i>go."</i>

data/data/the-codeless-code/en-qi/case-6.txt

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+Date: 2010-11-09
+Title: Empty
+Alt-Title: Empty-Handed
+Number: 6
+Geekiness: 3
+Names: Laughing Monkey Clan
+Topics: error handling, null, exceptions
+Illus.0.src: Urn.jpg
+
+Upon returning from vacation, the chief abbot of the
+[[Laughing Monkey Clan]] found his temple in a state of panic
+and disarray.  The financial system they had just modified
+was throwing NullPointerExceptions for all new customers.
+These users, disquieted in the extreme, were terminating
+their accounts after barely a day.
+
+With some difficulty the abbot traced the problem to a
+method whose stated purpose was to return a List of the
+user's transactions.  If there were no transactions it
+returned null, rather than the empty list.
+
+"Bring me the monk who wrote this method," he told the
+temple guards.  "And also the monk whose code invokes it."
+
+The first monk, who was the elder of the two, declared that
+the blame should be placed squarely at the feet of the
+second.  "My Javadoc was clear in the extreme.  It is not my
+fault that he did not check for nulls."  The second monk
+hung his head in shame and said nothing.
+
+The abbot clapped his hands and two tall jade urns were set
+upon the floor, one before each monk.  "Your punishments
+have been written on slips of paper within.  Each day you
+are to remove the first slip your hand touches and obey its
+decree to the letter, until your urn is empty."
+
+The younger monk was bade go first.  His hand had not gone
+halfway into the urn when the rustling of paper was heard.
+Reading the slip, he bowed and left the room.
+
+The elder monk reached deep into his own urn until his
+fingers brushed the cold bottom.  "There are no slips of 
+paper in this urn," said the monk, the slightest smile
+playing at the corner of his mouth.
+
+"Neither are there fish, nor ten mountains," said the abbot.
+
+The elder monk then cried out in pain.  The urn fell over
+and shattered.  A scorpion scuttled away across the tiles.
+
+The abbot regarded the dying monk.  "All nothings are not
+equal."

data/data/the-codeless-code/en-qi/case-60.txt

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+Number: 60
+Date: 2012-09-30
+Title: The Watchdog
+Geekiness: 1
+Names: Clan of Iron Bones, Yishi-Shing
+Topics: monitoring
+
+The production servers for a key system had been functioning
+poorly for many weeks.  After each restart the software
+behaved well, but as the days passed performance gradually
+slowed to a crawl until the system became unusable.  Worse,
+it was common for the application to run out of memory and
+crash during the busiest part of the third day, taking with
+it all unsaved session data of logged-in users.  Dozens of
+angry subscribers began phoning the Temple to register their
+dissatisfaction; they had very /specific/ suggestions about
+what should be done to the developers.  A team of trained
+watchdogs was acquired to safeguard the abbeys.
+
+Unable to reproduce the problem in the development
+environment, the Java masters begged for a nightly restart
+of the system.  This was granted by a near-unanimous
+consensus.  Yishi-Shing, a host master of the
+[[Clan of Iron Bones]], remained the lone dissenter.
+
+The restarts were deemed a success: performance remained
+good throughout the day, all but the most-violent users were
+placated, and the Java masters were able to turn their
+attention to more interesting matters.
+
+One night the Java masters and developers awoke to the sound
+of frantic barking outside their halls.  In the moonlight a
+Temple watchdog could be seen, fur bristling, paws spread
+wide as it faced down a group of menacing figures clad all
+in black.  The dog was just about to leap when a
+whistling sound pierced the air.  The animal
+whimpered and fell, its legs snared by the ropes of a thrown
+dai-chui.  The black figures scattered into darkness.
+
+From the shadows the host master emerged.  He knelt before
+the helpless dog to retrieve the dai-chui that was clearly his own.
+
+The Java masters demanded: "Those men may return
+before morning.  Why did you subdue the watchdog?"
+
+Yishi-Shing replied: "His barking disturbed my sleep."
+
+

data/data/the-codeless-code/en-qi/case-61.txt

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+Number: 61
+Date: 2012-10-02
+Title: Weight
+Geekiness: 1
+Names: Suku, Spider Clan
+Topics: planning, management
+Illus.0.par: 2
+Illus.0.src: weight.jpg
+Illus.0.title: It's a nice spot to sit and relax, if you don't mind the muffled screaming.
+
+Java master [[Suku]] entered the chambers of the [[Spider Clan]]'s
+head abbot; a monk in her charge entered also.  They bowed.
+
+Suku said to the abbot: "Last week I was ordered to
+completely re-implement the data visualization module, whose
+long tentacles have wormed their way into every crevice of
+our system.  I requested seven developers with various
+specialities so that the overhaul could be accomplished in
+one iteration.  Yet you have assigned me only this solitary
+monk."
+
+The abbot replied: "We cannot spare seven developers all at
+once.  Instead, this monk will be allowed to perform the
+work in seven iterations.  In exchange for this leniency he
+must keep the system stable, since there are many new features
+we wish to roll out to our users during that time."
+
+Suku nodded to the monk, who opened his hand and blew a
+gust of red powder straight into the abbot's face.  The
+abbot gasped in surprise, inhaling a lungful as he did so.
+He promptly collapsed on his desk.
+
+The abbot awoke in a dark stone pit with a single candle
+burning by his side.  As his eyes adjusted to the gloom he
+beheld a note affixed to the trap door above him:
+
+    A boulder seven times your weight //
+    rests upon the door, and holds it closed. //
+    Yet take comfort -- //
+    you may lift it as slowly as you desire.

data/data/the-codeless-code/en-qi/case-62.txt

@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+Number: 62
+Date: 2012-10-06
+Title: Confusion
+Geekiness: 1
+Names: Suku, Spider Clan
+Topics: management
+Credits: Some textures in illustrations courtesy of <a href="http://fantasystock.deviantart.com">FantasyStock</a>.
+Illus.0.par: 3
+Illus.0.src: confusion.jpg
+Illus.0.title: I have asked them how we might best achieve our deadline, but all they do is advise me to travel a highway paved in bricks of a saffron hue...
+
+Java master [[Suku]] entered the chambers of the [[Spider Clan]]'s
+new head abbot, who had been appointed to the
+position after his predecessor mysteriously
+<a href="/case/61">went missing.</a>
+
+Suku said to the abbot: "Last month I was ordered to
+completely re-implement the data visualization module.  I
+requested seven developers with various specialities so that
+the overhaul could be accomplished in one iteration.  Today
+I emerged from my quarters to find twenty-one strange little
+monks waiting for me in the hall."
+
+With great enthusiasm, the abbot replied: "Are they not
+marvelous?  We found them in a distant province which was
+recently beset by famine or earthquakes or giant red beetles;
+I forget the specifics.  They eat sparingly, sleep
+only two hours a night, and they are willing to forgo
+cubicles and code while dangling from the rafters, so they will
+incur very little overhead.  With such a team you should be
+able to make up the lost time, and complete the seven weeks'
+work in a mere seven days."
+
+Suku sighed, put two fingers to her mouth, and blew a shrill
+whistle.  At the sound a dozen tiny robed figures jumped
+from the rafters onto the stunned abbot, knocking him
+unconscious.
+
+The abbot awoke in a dark stone pit with a single candle
+burning by his side.  As his eyes adjusted to the gloom he
+discovered a rat-scoured skeleton in abbot's robes, on which
+was pinned a note:
+
+    Above you lies a square trap door: //
+    sturdy, yet light and unlocked. //
+    To aid your exit I have attached the best hinges -- //
+    Seven along each edge.

data/data/the-codeless-code/en-qi/case-63.txt

@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+Number: 63
+Date: 2012-10-13
+Title: Shackles
+Geekiness: 2
+Names: Zjing
+Topics: refactoring, elegance, maintainability, rethinking, complexity
+Illus.0.src: hut.jpg
+Illus.0.title: She may reconsider the move when it's avalanche season.
+
+The nun [[Zjing]] had acquired an aversion to heights.  A
+young monk found her in her new quarters: a small hut
+nestled at the lowest point of a valley seven hundred feet
+below the Temple.
+
+The monk sat down, for Zjing had taken to working while lying
+on the floor.
+
+"I have written a most elegant subsystem for our
+image-rendering pipeline," said the monk.  "It has increased
+throughput dramatically, yet it is extremely fragile.  Every
+change must be made with the utmost caution or chaos will
+result.  For a solid year I have maintained the code,
+trusting it to no one else.  Now my nerves are frayed.  I
+must move on to other projects or risk the loss of my few
+remaining wits."
+
+"I understand," said Zjing, clutching the floor as she sat
+upright to examine the code on the monk's laptop.  "You
+fear the inevitable day when your successor makes a careless
+change and the system falls apart."
+
+"Yes -- for I shall be blamed, and rightly so!" cried the
+monk. "How can I best ensure that such a disaster will not
+occur?  By extensive comments /in/ the code?  By extensive
+documentation /outside/ the code?  By providing a hundred
+unit tests that will fail if incorrect changes are made?  By
+permeating the code with a hundred consistency checks -- thus
+increasing its complexity even more?  Or by remaining on
+this project until my brains turn to jelly?"
+
+<i>"Wú,"</i> said the nun.  She selected the directory that held the
+subsystem's source code, hit the delete button, and crawled
+out the door.

data/data/the-codeless-code/en-qi/case-64.txt

@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+Number: 64
+Date: 2012-10-21
+Title: Three Beggars
+Geekiness: 3
+Skip: 0
+Credits: Some textures in illustrations courtesy of <a href="http://fantasystock.deviantart.com">FantasyStock</a>.
+Names: Kaimu
+Topics: overloading, polymorphism, null, strong typing
+Illus.0.src: beggar-1.jpg
+Illus.0.par: 2
+Illus.0.style: padding-right: 60px;
+Illus.1.src: beggar-2.jpg
+Illus.1.par: 8
+Illus.2.src: beggar-3.jpg
+Illus.2.par: 12
+Illus.2.title: I was *this* close to drawing them as the Three Stooges.
+Illus.2.style: padding-right: 30px;
+
+
+Java master [[Kaimu]] led three senior monks to the Hall Of
+Endless Cubicles.  There he gathered three novices in
+his charge.
+
+"A utility method is needed which takes an employee ID and
+from it constructs a particular URL," said Kaimu.  "The logic
+is not trivial, but ultimately it reduces to text substitution."
+
+Kaimu gestured to the first old monk.  "This one works on
+the persistence tier, where all database keys are large
+integers.  Understandably, he wishes the method to take a
+Long."
+
+Kaimu gestured to the second old monk.  "This one works on
+the business tier, which employs strong typing.  He wishes
+the method to take an EmployeeID object."
+
+Kaimu gestured to the third old monk.  "This one works on
+the web tier, where all data is manipulated as text.  He
+wishes the method to take a String."
+
+The master then bowed to the three monks, and bade the
+novices offer their solutions.
+
+- - -
+
+The first novice stood.  "The method should take a String,
+for that representation will be most useful within the
+method itself.  As for the monks who prefer Long or
+EmployeeID, they can easily invoke /toString/ on those
+objects and feed the result into the method."
+
+Said Kaimu: "When the beggar squatting in the dirt asks you
+for coins, you may well demand that he lift up his bowl to
+meet you.  But what of the man with no elbows?"
+
+Before the first novice could answer, the second stood.
+"The apparent simplicity of invoking /toString/ is hampered
+by the caller's need to check for null first.  So the method
+should take an Object, which can hold any of the three
+types.  The method itself can check for null, and invoke
+/toString/ only if it is safe to do so.  Thus, nothing is
+required of the caller."
+
+Said Kaimu: "Knowing the armless beggar can only accept what
+is placed on his tongue, you charitably go everywhere with
+rice in your pockets.  Yet you toss your grains into
+/anyone's/ mouth.  How glad you make the rats and magpies!"
+
+The third novice stood.  "Three monks, three novices.  Why
+not three methods, each taking a different type?
+EmployeeID, Long, and String.  The first and second can
+delegate to the third, and each can check for null."
+
+Said Kaimu: "Not a scrap for the rats in your village, but
+how fat the beggars must be!  Yet if a method takes
+four parameters, will you write it eighty-one different
+ways?  You may waste so much time pleasing everyone that you
+please no one."
+
+Kaimu then bade the senior monks depart, to let the novices
+determine for themselves the best way to satisfy all
+concerns.
+
+- - -
+
+The first old monk whispered as they went: "What approach will
+be decided upon, do you think?"
+
+The second old monk replied: "If they are anything like us, it
+will be the one championed by the novice who shouts the loudest."
+
+The third old monk nodded. "Doubtless, some of us will find
+fault with the solution, yet begrudgingly we will abide by
+it, and the world will continue to turn.  But so it goes: we
+are all of us beggars at each others' feet."