I wrote this Koan a while back. It amused /r/ruby:<p>When Matsumoto first came to these shores, he met a precocious young hacker who was strong in the way of Perl, which had many practitioners then.<p>“Matsumoto,” the young man said, “why should I learn your foreign Ruby? I am strong in the way of Perl, and I have yet to find a problem it is not flexible enough to solve.”<p>Matsumoto smiled his kind smile and said, “One does not learn Ruby for oneself. One learns Ruby for others.”<p>“Ha,” the young man said, “then your way is not for me. I am not the cooperating type. I work on my own projects and my projects alone. No one but me reads my code.”<p>Matsumoto bowed his head and said, “All hackers cooperate, even you.”<p>“You are a fool, Matsumoto! Did I not just say I work alone?”<p>To this Matsumoto said, “Even those who work alone, cooperate with all the people they once were and all those they will become.”<p>Upon hearing this, the young man was enlightened.