Re: Why is it not possible to use "nil" any more in init files ?

[WJ]

Phillip Lord wrote:

> I always used
> 
> (hated-mode 0)
> 
> which seems to be more intuitive than passing nil.

No, it doesn't.

We are not dealing with C or Forth.

In Lisp and Scheme, as a truth value, 2 is the same as
1 and the same as 0.  The only thing that is false is
nil (in Scheme, #f).

What if, to the most mindless of users,
2+2=5 seemed more "intuitive" than 2+2=4.

Should elisp be changed so that (+ 2 2) will yield
5?  Or should the mindless be required to learn to think?

Rewarding the mindless and penalizing the thoughtful is
a monstrous thing to do.