Joe Armstrong has died • Hacker News Board

Re: Joe Armstrong has died

#101

Post by codyb » Sat, Apr 20, 2019, 5:35 PM UTC

noblethrasher wrote: post #63

jwatzman wrote: post #37

Back in 2015, I somehow ended up as part of a panel discussion at the end of a conference. The panel was going to include Joe Armstrong, Don Syme (inventor of F#), Tony Hoare (!), and myself (a nobody compared to any of them). During the conference, I wanted to meet each of the other folks on the panel, and ended up in a somewhat lengthy conversation with Joe Armstrong -- mostly about Erlang, but at some point the pa…

Not at all hard to believe that he was sincere. He seemed to be pretty starstruck when he was interviewing Alan Kay on stage just three years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhOHn9TClXY .

And his twitter @joeerl [0] which I feel unfortunate to have just discovered today is filled with him discovering emojis and dictation, talking up the joys of letters, and discussing FPGAs.

It’s sad to hear of his passing, and rewarding to see he was just as kind and curious as you could ever hope to be even just this month.

[0] - https://mobile.twitter.com/joeerl

Re: Joe Armstrong has died

#102

Post by augustl » Sat, Apr 20, 2019, 5:35 PM UTC

toomuchtodo wrote: post #94

kozak wrote: post #3

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Armstrong_(programmer)

Would anyone be able to suggest a quality photo of Joe to use for his Wikipedia page? I will be spending some time this weekend improving his page.

This photoshop by Bodil Stokke is the obvious choice.

https://twitter.com/bodil/status/1119644170816303104

Re: Joe Armstrong has died

#103

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Apr 20, 2019, 5:36 PM UTC

augustl wrote: post #102

toomuchtodo wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would anyone be able to suggest a quality photo of Joe to use for his Wikipedia page? I will be spending some time this weekend improving his page.

This photoshop by Bodil Stokke is the obvious choice. https://twitter.com/bodil/status/1119644170816303104

[deleted]

Re: Joe Armstrong has died

#104

Post by codr7 » Sat, Apr 20, 2019, 5:42 PM UTC

So long Joe, and thanks for coming here and doing your thing.

Erlang changed my way of thinking in several ways, a quick glance at some of my own creations [0] makes that pretty obvious.

[0] https://github.com/codr7/g-fu#tasks

Re: Joe Armstrong has died

#105

Post by garyhbutton » Sat, Apr 20, 2019, 5:57 PM UTC

RIP

Re: Joe Armstrong has died

#106

Post by ipsum2 » Sat, Apr 20, 2019, 6:01 PM UTC

If people aren't aware, Joe's blog is full of interesting tidbits: https://joearms.github.io/#Index. I remember reading this one in particular: https://joearms.github.io/#2015-03-12%20The%20web%20of%20nam...

Re: Joe Armstrong has died

#107

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Apr 20, 2019, 6:04 PM UTC

augustl wrote: post #102

toomuchtodo wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would anyone be able to suggest a quality photo of Joe to use for his Wikipedia page? I will be spending some time this weekend improving his page.

This photoshop by Bodil Stokke is the obvious choice. https://twitter.com/bodil/status/1119644170816303104

[deleted]

Re: Joe Armstrong has died

#108

Post by ignoramous » Sat, Apr 20, 2019, 6:06 PM UTC

Devastating.

I'd like to point out a recent tweet @joeerl shared [0][1] that contained things he felt were good wisdom but lost over time:

--

Ideas that we forgot:

1. Flow based programming.

2. Pipes.

3. Linda Tuple Spaces.

4. Hypertext (=/= HTML).

Computer Science 101:

1. Observational equivalence.

2. Isolation.

3. Composition.

4. Causality.

5. Physics.

Two papers to read:

1. The Emperor's Old Clothes - ACM.

2. A Plea for Lean Software - Nikalus Wirth.

Two videos to watch:

1. The Computer Revolution Hasn't Happened Yet - Alan Kay.

2. Computers for Cynics - Ted Nelson.

Four old tools to learn: Emacs, Bash, Make, Shell.

Three books to read:

1. Algorithms + Data Structure = Programs.

2. The Mythical Man Month.

3. How to Win Friends and Influence People.

Correct a typo:

?? Learn git -> locate program that creates page -> locate typo -> correct -> send push [sic] request.

!! Select text -> type in correction -> people see change.

Two projects:

1. Link to content hash not a name (request content by sha256, immune to pepole in the middle).

2. Elastic Links (links should not break if you move an endpoint).

--

Easily one of the best thinkers of his generation [2]. RIP.

[0] https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ds19oHnXoAAwlAp.jpg

[1] https://www.youtube.com/embed/-I_jE0l7sYQ

[2] https://learnxinyminutes.com/docs/erlang/

Re: Joe Armstrong has died

#109

Post by ch4s3 » Sat, Apr 20, 2019, 6:08 PM UTC

What an incredible guy. I’ve interacted with him and Robert briefly on the Elixir forums a few times, and I can’t think of anyone more giving, humble, and insightful. His presence will truly be missed.

Re: Joe Armstrong has died

#110

Post by janvdberg » Sat, Apr 20, 2019, 6:20 PM UTC

I only recently came across his Twitter account and started following him (he had some interesting ideas about and experiments with TiddlyWiki). He seemed like a passionate and enthusiastic technology lover, which was a good enough reason to follow him.

And it is only just a few minutes ago that I discovered that Joe is the guy with the moustache from the famous Erlang: The Movie video…. I had not pieced those two things together.

So I knew nothing about his history, just one little thing he was working on/interested in. That may make me seem ignorant, but I share this because it goes to show that the light that shines in people like Joe was a genuine light of curiosity and sharing. Bright enough to attract people like me.