Dumbing down, what an insult!

Zeldman writes about the decision of the CSS creators to "dumb things down"

I find this "dumbing down" idea damaging to everybody.

It is insulting to those things are dumbed down for, and frustrating to those who try and hone their skills to the highest possible standard.

CSS is a language, for God's sake! What about dumbing down English to make it easier to foreigners??? Or to children???

That's pure non-sense.

Do you expect to end-up playing Chopin at Carnegie Hall after only two days of piano practice?

Non-sense.

This dumbing down thingie only goes with this "instant gratification" cancer, where effort is scorned at, learning ridiculed, and achievements only valued if they were easy!

And please do NOT confuse the ease of USE of the iPhone, like a hammer to a nail, not like a steam-roller to a pin (Zune). Those are completely different topics!

The iPhone is meant as a utility. Like a light bulb: switch it on, it works, switch if off, it stops. This has nothing to do with learning. And learning, all forms of it, goes through the mastery of some language (written or not).

Dumbing down a language is one of the worst insults being made to mankind. OK. I go back to my Lisp (Clojure) and have a sad laugh at that pop culture that values the result more than the process, being dead (the final outcome) more than being alive and struggling but striving ...