> _why's influence isn't only in code, but in thinking. And if you look around, for example on github, you will see a lot of people hacking away for fun, trying out new stuff and just doing something they love to do. Did _why start this trend? He didn't, but he was a big advocate of it.
Yes, that's right, this person appears to be seriously suggesting that _why could have been responsible for people hacking for fun (in the "I'm not saying that...", right after saying it kinda way).
> I'd argue his unique way of thinking has also pushed the boundaries of programming as a science in the way that calculus changed people's ways of thinking about math and physics.
As influential on programming as calculus was on maths and physics? Really? _why is on equal footing with Newton and Leibniz now?
> As for his strange charisma, I would say _why is to programming as Ramanujan was to mathematics.
This one suggests that _why is to programming as a Fellow of the Royal Society was to mathematics! Awesome!
> I always thought he was one of the most creative people currently working in any medium,
Yep. That one pretty much speaks for itself.
I mean, the _title_ of the article is "A Tale Of A Post-Modern Genius".
Need I go on? I believe my use of the word "sycophantic" was justified and I stand by it. Genuine praise for someone's achievements is completely justified and should be given freely. This is not genuine praise. It appears to be a pissing contest between different people trying to find the most absurd hyperbole with which to describe the effect that _why had on them, the Ruby community, the programming world and the entire universe and all matter contained within it.