Emerson is one of my favorite authors. I think his philosophy on creative output/self-expression is just as applicable for writing as it is for programming; programming to me, is the ardent beauty and cogency of the [programmer's] thoughts being expressed in a language that is ultimately interpreted by a computer (rather than a human). It is an art - but, programming without spirit is just "coding".

The edition of Emerson around the house has in the preface a quotation from Harriet Martineau, roughly "The logicians score incessant triumphs over him, yet he is not vanquished."

It seems to me that Emerson was an outstanding journalist and writer on current events. As a thinker, though, he strikes me as too frequently vague and ready to make rhetoric cover for doubtful inferences.