For Donald Knuth, good coding is synonymous with beautiful expression
quantamagazine.org
For Donald Knuth, good coding is synonymous with beautiful expression
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Re: For Donald Knuth, good coding is synonymous with beautiful expression
#2Has anyone read his books? Seems like an interesting way to get into programming. I enjoy reading, but I never thought that a book about programming would present it's ideas and technical details through stories.
Re: For Donald Knuth, good coding is synonymous with beautiful expression
#3People often say "TAOCP is a dense, technical book, you don't just sit down and read it cover to cover." It is dense and it is technical, but it's also a joy to sit down and read and this is why. Knuth doesn't present an algorithm and annotate it with (Foobar 1968) and that's that. He says "Bazquux came up with an early version of this algorithm in 1962 while working on missile trajectories for the Department of Defense, then Foobar came up with the linear-time optimization that we all use today." Stuff like that.
Re: For Donald Knuth, good coding is synonymous with beautiful expression
#4I like this:
"A person’s success in life is determined by having a high minimum, not a high maximum. If you can do something really well but there are other things at which you’re failing, the latter will hold you back. But if almost everything you do is up there, then you’ve got a good life."
Re: For Donald Knuth, good coding is synonymous with beautiful expression
#5Man for an older person he is using a really small font on his screen! Also: looks like a GNU/Linux variant not windows or macOS.
Re: For Donald Knuth, good coding is synonymous with beautiful expression
#6There is a joy that shines through everything Knuth does. Those who have ears hear the reason for this.
Re: For Donald Knuth, good coding is synonymous with beautiful expression
#7Has anyone read his books? Seems like an interesting way to get into programming. I enjoy reading, but I never thought that a book about programming would present it's ideas and technical details through stories.
I used his books as a way to learn the things about computer science that I missed out on by not having a CSci degree. They are very mathematical, but that's just a bonus for me. They are certainly not light reading.
Re: For Donald Knuth, good coding is synonymous with beautiful expression
#8I like this: "A person’s success in life is determined by having a high minimum, not a high maximum. If you can do something really well but there are other things at which you’re failing, the latter will hold you back. But if almost everything you do is up there, then you’ve got a good life."
This is interesting and very true. It reminds me of people who are excellent at something but their life gets held back by alcohol/drugs or bad relationships or some other _low minimum_.
That first sentence is really profound in my opinion.
Re: For Donald Knuth, good coding is synonymous with beautiful expression
#9I like this: "A person’s success in life is determined by having a high minimum, not a high maximum. If you can do something really well but there are other things at which you’re failing, the latter will hold you back. But if almost everything you do is up there, then you’ve got a good life."
This is interesting and very true. It reminds me of people who are excellent at something but their life gets held back by alcohol/drugs or bad relationships or some other _low minimum_. That first sentence is really profound in my opinion.
You've never experienced good art by a tortured artist, then?
Re: For Donald Knuth, good coding is synonymous with beautiful expression
#10I like this: "A person’s success in life is determined by having a high minimum, not a high maximum. If you can do something really well but there are other things at which you’re failing, the latter will hold you back. But if almost everything you do is up there, then you’ve got a good life."
How about defining your own idea of success in life?
Taking your utility function, your definition of success, from someone else, is only one step removed from being jealous of someone on Instagram.
Think, and judge, for yourself.