Dihydrogen monoxide parody Dihydrogen monoxide parody The dihydrogen monoxide parody involves calling water by the unfamiliar chemical name "dihydrogen monoxide" (DHMO), or "hydroxylic acid" in some cases, and listing some of water's well-known effects in a particularly alarming manner, such as accelerating corrosion and causing suffocation. The parody often calls for dihydrogen monoxide to be banned, regulated, and labeled as dangerous. It illustrates how a lack of scientific literacy and an exaggerated analysis can lead to misplaced fears. The parody gained renewed popularity in the late 1990s when a 14-year-old student, Nathan Zohner, collected anti-DHMO petitions for a science project about gullibility. The
Worse is better Rise of Worse is Better", Gabriel claimed that "Worse-is-Better" is a model of software design and implementation which has the following characteristics (in approximately descending order of importance): Gabriel argued that early Unix and C, developed by Bell Labs, are examples of this design approach. Gabriel contrasted his philosophy with what he called the "MIT/Stanford style of design" or "MIT approach" (also known as "the Right Thing"), which he described as follows. Contrasts are in bold: Gabriel argued that "Worse is better" produced more "successful" software than the MIT approach: As long as the initial program is basically good, it