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A Lisp interpreter implemented in Conway's Game of Life (2021)

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Re: A Lisp interpreter implemented in Conway's Game of Life (2021)

#21

Post by benj111 »

sph wrote: post #8
buggythebug wrote: post #4

Enough...with...lisp....

3 months ago you described yourself as a "non-techie", and you come here of all places, and cry about too much Lisp? You've taken a wrong turn, pal. This house was built with parens. Sent from my Lisp Machine.

>This house was built with parens.

While the metaphor is correct.

(House(kitchen ( bathroom (bedroom))))

Surely the meaningful part of a house, or lisp, is everything else.

(((()))) Is neither a house nor lisp.

Yes it probably is, but the meaningful part is the nothing that's in there, not the parens surrounding the nothing.

A house isn't just 4 walls. It's where you live, surely that's the important part.

I'll stop getting philosophical with throwaway comments now.

Re: A Lisp interpreter implemented in Conway's Game of Life (2021)

#22

Post by [deleted] »

benj111 wrote: post #21
sph wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

3 months ago you described yourself as a "non-techie", and you come here of all places, and cry about too much Lisp? You've taken a wrong turn, pal. This house was built with parens. Sent from my Lisp Machine.

>This house was built with parens. While the metaphor is correct. (House(kitchen ( bathroom (bedroom)))) Surely the meaningful part of a house, or lisp, is everything else. (((()))) Is neither a house nor lisp . Yes it probably is, but the meaningful part is the nothing that's in there, not the parens surrounding the nothing. A house isn't just 4 walls. It's where you live, surely that's the important part. I'll stop…

[deleted]

Re: A Lisp interpreter implemented in Conway's Game of Life (2021)

#23

Post by tmtvl »

benj111 wrote: post #21
sph wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

3 months ago you described yourself as a "non-techie", and you come here of all places, and cry about too much Lisp? You've taken a wrong turn, pal. This house was built with parens. Sent from my Lisp Machine.

>This house was built with parens. While the metaphor is correct. (House(kitchen ( bathroom (bedroom)))) Surely the meaningful part of a house, or lisp, is everything else. (((()))) Is neither a house nor lisp . Yes it probably is, but the meaningful part is the nothing that's in there, not the parens surrounding the nothing. A house isn't just 4 walls. It's where you live, surely that's the important part. I'll stop…

I like that analogy, a programming language without brackets is like a house without walls, and nil is an empty house.

Re: A Lisp interpreter implemented in Conway's Game of Life (2021)

#24

Post by ithkuil »

sph wrote: post #8
buggythebug wrote: post #4

Enough...with...lisp....

3 months ago you described yourself as a "non-techie", and you come here of all places, and cry about too much Lisp? You've taken a wrong turn, pal. This house was built with parens. Sent from my Lisp Machine.

Can you exit a house built by (balanced) parens?

If not, it's a prison.

Re: A Lisp interpreter implemented in Conway's Game of Life (2021)

#25

Post by benj111 »

tmtvl wrote: post #23
benj111 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>This house was built with parens. While the metaphor is correct. (House(kitchen ( bathroom (bedroom)))) Surely the meaningful part of a house, or lisp, is everything else. (((()))) Is neither a house nor lisp . Yes it probably is, but the meaningful part is the nothing that's in there, not the parens surrounding the nothing. A house isn't just 4 walls. It's where you live, surely that's the important part. I'll stop…

I like that analogy, a programming language without brackets is like a house without walls, and nil is an empty house.

As I said, the analogy works.

But the house bedroom bathroom kitchen bit is more important than the (((()))).

Maybe I'm thinking about this too much (read, I am thinking about this too much) but maybe the data / use is more important than the structure

Re: A Lisp interpreter implemented in Conway's Game of Life (2021)

#26

Post by sph »

ithkuil wrote: post #24
sph wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

3 months ago you described yourself as a "non-techie", and you come here of all places, and cry about too much Lisp? You've taken a wrong turn, pal. This house was built with parens. Sent from my Lisp Machine.

Can you exit a house built by (balanced) parens? If not, it's a prison.

You might be right. I haven't escaped yet, I'm wrapped in more parens than I first started.

Re: A Lisp interpreter implemented in Conway's Game of Life (2021)

#27

Post by tmtvl »

benj111 wrote: post #25
tmtvl wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I like that analogy, a programming language without brackets is like a house without walls, and nil is an empty house.

As I said, the analogy works. But the house bedroom bathroom kitchen bit is more important than the (((()))). Maybe I'm thinking about this too much (read, I am thinking about this too much) but maybe the data / use is more important than the structure

Life, like brackets, is about balance. Four walls with a roof don't make a home, but a bed, cupboard, toilet, stove, table, chairs, and bath set up out in the open don't make much of a home either. The internals need the structure just as much as the structure needs the internals.

Re: A Lisp interpreter implemented in Conway's Game of Life (2021)

#28

Post by buggythebug »

sph wrote: post #8
buggythebug wrote: post #4

Enough...with...lisp....

3 months ago you described yourself as a "non-techie", and you come here of all places, and cry about too much Lisp? You've taken a wrong turn, pal. This house was built with parens. Sent from my Lisp Machine.

I still do! People like to talk about Lisp on here because Paul Graham made it cool to. That's it. Are any major/important things be done today that are using Lisp??
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