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_Kantjil_

From:dirk elzinga <dirk.elzinga@...>
Date:Wednesday, June 21, 2000, 20:48
Wow.

Just last week I was reading a book which used the same image;
crossing across a crocodile infested river by hopping from back
to back. It was used as a metaphor for how software companies
try to outpace hackers by quickly releasing new versions of
product. (The book was _In the Beginning Was the Command Line_
by Neal Stephenson; pretty entertaining, though parts of it read
like ad copy for Linux and BeOS.) Perhaps Stephenson knew the
story.

Dirk

On Wed, 21 Jun 2000, Roger Mills wrote:

> Si Kantjil (modern Kancil) is a trickster figure. A story, adapted & > abbreviated: > > One day in the forest, Si Kantjil was being chased by a tiger. He came to a > wide river, with Tiger hot on his heels. Si Kantjil called out: Hey, > crocodiles! Come here, the King has ordered me to make a census of you..... > So all the crocodiles came and lined up in the river, so many they stretched > from one bank to the other. > Si Kantjil hopped on their backs, counting, One, two, three.... until he > reached the other side, where he said, OK, that's finished, you can all go > now... > > Benign ending: when Tiger reaches the river, the crocs have dispersed, and > he can only growl in frustration while Kantjil laughs at him from the other > side. > > Non-benign ending: Tiger also tries to cross via the crocodiles, but being > heavier, he falls in and gets eaten up. >
-- Dirk Elzinga dirk.elzinga@m.cc.utah.edu