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Alan Kay has agreed to do an AMA today

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: Alan Kay has agreed to do an AMA today

#911

Post by aidos »

jasonamyers wrote: post #869
aidos wrote: post #377

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use hot-editing in python by default and I find it incredibly useful (now I feel crippled when I'm on a system without it). There are times when I need to reload the state completely but it's pretty rare (changing something that uses metaclasses, like sqlalchemy, is one such place). Maybe there's something about the style I've adopted that lends itself more to hot-editing but it's definitely a tool I'd hate to be w…

I'm super interested in how you do that! Can you share at all?

Yes! I can! I quickly made a video with super crappy audio quality last time it came up - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-mAuNY9szI

It's pretty poor quality listening but you should get the point. You can send me an email (see my profile) if you wanted to go through it in more detail.

Re: Alan Kay has agreed to do an AMA today

#913

Post by juanuys »

erring wrote: post #443

In a recent talk, Ivan Sutherland spoke in the lines of, “Imagine that the hardware we used today had time as a first-class concept. What would computing be like?” [1] To expand on Sutherland's point: Today's hardware does not concern itself with reflecting the realities of programming. The Commodore Amiga, which had a blitter chip that enabled high-speed bitmap writes with straightforward software implementation, br…

Yes! I want this!

The problem is that distributed systems can't agree on what the time is. Remember how Google tried to fix this with atomic clocks and GPS? [1]

My hunch is that soon timing devices on distributed systems will reach instantaneous consensus by way of quantum entanglement.

[1] http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/26/3692392/google-spanner-at...

Re: Alan Kay has agreed to do an AMA today

#914

Post by infinite8s »

infinite8s wrote: post #912

Did you ever experiment with 'late-binding' hardware? IE something akin to FPGAs today? Could that be considered the progression of the Alto's microcode design?

Possibly related to that is the idea of 'late-binding' of physical items (ie 3D printing). It's interesting to think about the combination of computer driven synthesis and manufacturing of physical/computational products (ie smart materials).

Re: Alan Kay has agreed to do an AMA today

#915

Post by socrates666 »

bpchaps wrote: post #881
heurist wrote: post #602

Earlier quoted context omitted.

First of all, I now enjoy talking about myself :) I stopped assuming I knew everything, and a childlike sense of wonder returned to my life. I began looking beyond what was directly in front of me and sought out more comprehensive generalizations. What do atoms have in common with humans? What does it mean to communicate? Do we communicate with ecosystems? Do individuals communicate with society? What is consciousnes…

This is almost exactly my experience! I don't think HN talks about it much, but cannabis is a great way to approach intuitive depth on subjects. For me it was ego, math, music, civics and information theory concepts. When I started, it was at a job that I absolutely hated (rewriting mantis to be a help desk system), and it helped me get out of it by opening up better understanding of low level systems. That eventuall…

It is IDENTICAL to mine as well. Even down to the information theory bit. Very bizarre, but reassuring.

Re: Alan Kay has agreed to do an AMA today

#916

Post by qwertyuiop924 »

alankay1 wrote: post #614
qwertyuiop924 wrote: post #605

Earlier quoted context omitted.

...and I'm not sure I agree. The idea that code from randoms shouldn't be put into critical infrastructure is certainly true. But the idea that people shouldn't tinker, hack on code, and learn, even if they end of with non-optimal, possibly broken code, is a dangerous one, because that's how people learn. And yes, they should dabble in important things. How else do they learn them. It's then our job, as the Real Worl…

It's not the learning process that is in question, but the ramifications of really extending the industrial revolution to distributing broken code. (No language has ever been more set up to allow tinkering with everything for the purpose of learning than Smalltalk -- I think you probably realize this.) I think most people would not recognize most exiting OSs in use by your definition in your second paragraph.

Okay. What is the definition of the OS in your opinion?

And thank you for taking the time to disagree with me respectfully. So many do not.

And I do recognize the tinkering capabilities of smalltalk. This is why I found your points odd.

I have yet to learn Smalltalk. The full environment, as opposed to text editor development feels odd to me, especillay after struggling with monsters like Eclipse. Also, SBE is several years out of date, and there isn't really much in the way of good documentation for those who don't already know what they're doing.

Re: Alan Kay has agreed to do an AMA today

#917

Post by qwertyuiop924 »

alankay1 wrote: post #841
collinmanderson wrote: post #838

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> OSs are not necessary Is this because web browsers are all we need? (I'm about thinking ChromeOS as an example.) Currently, OSs are needed to create web browsers. Do you think there will be a time when a web browser will be able to compile itself (without requiring an "OS")? Also, will the web servers also not require an "OS"?

It's worth pondering the real implications of real objects as real virtual machines intercommunicating by messages (they were inspired in part by the pervasive world-wide networking that was part of Licklider's vision). One way to think about this is that "hardware objects" are merely caches for the software objects that will embody the processes and intents. As a cache, each computer needs a small amount of code to…

Well, ST at Parc was, by some definitions anyways, an OS. HW objects are certainly an interesting idea, though, and now I kind of get what you mean.

Re: Alan Kay has agreed to do an AMA today

#918

Post by madmax96 »

jsprogrammer wrote: post #849
richhickey wrote: post #684

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It contravenes the common and historical use of the word 'data' to imply undifferentiated bits/scribbles. It means facts/observations/measurements/information and you must at least grant it sufficient formatting and metadata to satisfy that definition. The fact that most data requires some human involvement for interpretation (e.g. pointing the right program at the right data) in no way negates its utility (we've lea…

Your selection of data is arbitrary. Not only is your perception based on an interpreter, but how can you be sure that you were even given all of the relevant bits? Or, even what the bits really meant/are?

Of course the selection of data is arbitrary -- but Rich gives us a definition, which he makes abundantly clear and uses consistently. All definitions can be considered arbitrary. He's not making any claim that we have all the relevant bits of data or that we can be sure what the data really means or represents.

But we can expound on this problem in general. In any experiment where we gather data, how can we be sure we have collected a sufficient quantity to justify conclusions (and even if we are using statistical methods that our underlying assumptions are indeed consistent with reality) and that we have accrued all the necessary components? What you're really getting at is an __epistemological__ problem.

My school of thought is that the only way to proceed is to do our best with the data we have. We'll make mistakes, but that's better than the alternative (not extrapolating on data at all.)

Re: Alan Kay has agreed to do an AMA today

#919

Post by Ericson2314 »

alankay1 wrote: post #738
Ericson2314 wrote: post #716

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Glad to hear it! I would certainly agree. [Do you prefer "[computer] science", "design", or another term? I personally get a bit queasy about calling it "science" when the field isn't centered around experiments and their analysis. Moreover "sciencing" is not a verb :).]

I like "computer science" when doing real "computer science". Science is making explanatory models from and about phenomena and looking for more phenomena. Most of the time I think I'm "designing". In English "sciencing" can be a verb. And there's the great line from "The Martian" -- "I'm going to have to science the shit out of this!"

That makes sense. Heh, didn't seee that movie but good quote.

Re: Alan Kay has agreed to do an AMA today

#920

Post by wdanilo »

rvikmanis wrote: post #412
wdanilo wrote: post #300

Hi Alan! I've got some assumptions regarding the upcoming big paradigm shift (and I believe it will happen sooner than later): 1. focus on data processing rather than imperative way of thinking (esp. functional programming) 2. abstraction over parallelism and distributed systems 3. interactive collaboration between developers 4. development accessible to a much broader audience, especially to domain experts, without…

Sorry for straying, but can I get an invite?

Yes, you can :) Write an email to me and I'll grand you access. For now a very limited audience is allowed.
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