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Donald Knuth on work habits, problem solving, and happiness (2020)

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Re: Donald Knuth on work habits, problem solving, and happiness (2020)

#71

Post by theonething »

joshgachnang wrote: post #52
theonething wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why should the journey be orthogonal to the destination? The Bible confirms that both are vital. The Sermon on the Mount commands Christians to be kind, loving and good people in this life. Verses like Matthew 6:19-21, Colossians 3:2 and 1 Corinthians 2:9 compel Christians to live this life in light of eternity. To me, if you accept the presuppositions of the Christian worldview, this is logical. If this life and how…

Growing up in the Lutheran church I found that unfortunately a lot of people didn't really read the Bible or think too hard about a lot of the passages. Most people listened to the sermons and how the pastor (or if you were in Lutheran day school like me, your teachers) interpreted and emphasized things. And while they did emphasize being a good person today, there was a huge emphasis on heaven and hell.

I think one of the results of what you describe is a subtle forsaking or compromise of fundamental Biblical truths in lieu of less controversial and more attractive principles that conform more closely with human sentiment and societal norms.

Re: Donald Knuth on work habits, problem solving, and happiness (2020)

#72

Post by orlp »

bigcat12345678 wrote: post #60
hintymad wrote: post #23

I still read TAOCP, particularly vol 4, for fun from time to time, but I have to admit that the days are long gone when an ordinary engineer needs to study algorithms in depth. The vast number of libraries and services are good enough that most people just need to know a few terms to function adequately for their jobs. I guess it's a good thing as it shows how robust the software abstractions are, in contrast to math…

The most valuable part of TAOCP, for me, is its writing. I've never read anything that is more precise or intuitive. TAOCP is also pleasant to read. It's the book that I go back to once a while after being bothered by the sloppiness in the documents and papers and many other written materials consumed everyday. Reading it gives a sense of enlightenment that regardless of all those poor writing, there is hope to reach…

My only gripe with TAOCP is its usage of MMIX.

Re: Donald Knuth on work habits, problem solving, and happiness (2020)

#73

Post by mhh__ »

kenjackson wrote: post #58
mhh__ wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There will always be a "higher" type of engineers who want to read TAOCP and similar. My issue with the books is that they're actually quite long winded even by what you'd expect from the tone. There's some really cool stuff in them, obviously, but I think they're objectively not very good textbooks for any purpose. Then again I'm coming from a background of physics rather than mathematics so I'm not set out for a re…

I think they are excellent textbooks if your goal is to learn all about algorithms. And by this I mean he takes these great tangents into slightly different derivations that lead to wildly different complexities. Or why somethings are actually ambiguous or some interesting special case. And maybe even more importantly, a great collection of problems to work through. I think it is actually an underappreciated text now…

My gripe is that there is an order through them that is an excellent textbook, but the lexical order through the book is usually very long winded and meanders immensely.

Meandering through topics is good, but he meanders through style as well: sometimes he was in a mathematical mood, sometimes he was feeling more practical. I think it's better to intuit first then formalize, Knuth likes to do these in groups of pairs rather than a pair of groups.

Knuth is not the worst at this, but the lost potential is the greatest in his writing.

Re: Donald Knuth on work habits, problem solving, and happiness (2020)

#74

Post by SoftTalker »

hintymad wrote: post #23

I still read TAOCP, particularly vol 4, for fun from time to time, but I have to admit that the days are long gone when an ordinary engineer needs to study algorithms in depth. The vast number of libraries and services are good enough that most people just need to know a few terms to function adequately for their jobs. I guess it's a good thing as it shows how robust the software abstractions are, in contrast to math…

> the days are long gone when an ordinary engineer needs to study algorithms in depth

Except to pass the interview screens at high-profile tech companies?

Re: Donald Knuth on work habits, problem solving, and happiness (2020)

#75

Post by Laakeri »

ipnon wrote: post #54
skadamat wrote: post #53

One of my favorite facts about Knuth is how rarely he checks email! https://www.calnewport.com/blog/2008/07/17/bonus-post-how-th...

Fast responses to email was just cited as a key factor in founder success in Cowen's "Talent". He quoted Altman, who apparently ran some rudimentary data analysis based on his own emails while working at Y Combinator. Obviously Knuth is not successful as a founder .

I don't know, he was a co-founder of computer science.

Re: Donald Knuth on work habits, problem solving, and happiness (2020)

#76

Post by maxerickson »

sixstringtheory wrote: post #67
maxerickson wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ironically, a significant portion of Knuth's lifetime work consists of digested summaries of original source materials.

The complaint is not the summarization, it is the lack of citation. I see no irony in this light.

I wasn't referring to the complaint, it was a reference to the output of Knuth not being particularly accessible if you don't like reading digested summaries, because a big part of what he set out to do is to summarize academic research across a wide range of topics.

I guess it's like rain on your weeding day.

Re: Donald Knuth on work habits, problem solving, and happiness (2020)

#77

Post by dllthomas »

commandlinefan wrote: post #66
dllthomas wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I wish there were a course one could take on algebra itself Depending a little on just what you mean, that's likely the upper-division undergraduate math department course called "Algebra" at most universities. Groups and rings and such.

> the upper-division undergraduate math department course called "Algebra" And be careful what you wish for - the way eighth-grade algebra hurt your brain when you were 13 will be nothing compared to the way abstract algebra will hurt your brain when you're 20.

... in a good way.

I liked "high school" algebra okay, but group theory was fun, even if homework was sometimes spending hours and pages to wind up with a 10 line proof.

Re: Donald Knuth on work habits, problem solving, and happiness (2020)

#78

Post by [deleted] »

dllthomas wrote: post #56
TimTheTinker wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Algebra goes so much deeper than this. I had so much trouble with my compilers class because my professor expressed all the ideas and principles of compilation using algebra. So I second OP's comment - I wish there were a course one could take on algebra itself - not merely numeric expressions with variables.

> I wish there were a course one could take on algebra itself Depending a little on just what you mean, that's likely the upper-division undergraduate math department course called "Algebra" at most universities. Groups and rings and such.

[deleted]

Re: Donald Knuth on work habits, problem solving, and happiness (2020)

#79

Post by lnwlebjel »

ipnon wrote: post #54
skadamat wrote: post #53

One of my favorite facts about Knuth is how rarely he checks email! https://www.calnewport.com/blog/2008/07/17/bonus-post-how-th...

Fast responses to email was just cited as a key factor in founder success in Cowen's "Talent". He quoted Altman, who apparently ran some rudimentary data analysis based on his own emails while working at Y Combinator. Obviously Knuth is not successful as a founder .

> He quoted Altman, who apparently ran some rudimentary data analysis based on his own emails while working at Y Combinator.

... which would mean "Fast responses to email from YC Partners was just cited as a key factor in founder success" ...

Re: Donald Knuth on work habits, problem solving, and happiness (2020)

#80

Post by TimTheTinker »

dllthomas wrote: post #56
TimTheTinker wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Algebra goes so much deeper than this. I had so much trouble with my compilers class because my professor expressed all the ideas and principles of compilation using algebra. So I second OP's comment - I wish there were a course one could take on algebra itself - not merely numeric expressions with variables.

> I wish there were a course one could take on algebra itself Depending a little on just what you mean, that's likely the upper-division undergraduate math department course called "Algebra" at most universities. Groups and rings and such.

I thought of that, but it sounded like it was just studying particular mathematical structures -- not learning "how to read arbitrary algebraic expressions".

Or perhaps algebraic expressions in different mathematical specialties are differentiated enough to make knowledge about how to read a given expression mostly non-transferable?

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