John McCarthy Has Died • Hacker News Board

Re: John McCarthy Has Died

#81

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Oct 24, 2011, 9:20 PM UTC

cconroy wrote: post #61

eru wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You should put more effort into your Lisp parody.

((not (parody?)) 'homage)

[deleted]

Re: John McCarthy Has Died

#82

Post by Jun8 » Mon, Oct 24, 2011, 9:20 PM UTC

What, no HN black ribbon for McCarthy?

Re: John McCarthy Has Died

#83

Post by bluemoon » Mon, Oct 24, 2011, 9:20 PM UTC

xxcode wrote: post #64

I got a call this morning from his daughter that he has died this morning. Sorry to have him go.

Are there any other verifiable sources?

Re: John McCarthy Has Died

#84

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Oct 24, 2011, 9:28 PM UTC

redthrowaway wrote: post #27

estel wrote: post #20

This really needs a better source. There's no citation provided, and Wikipedia can't keep any details of his death up without one. Basically, I have a spoonful of salt to hand.

Agreed. I did a quick Google News search and turned up nothing. Could be legit, or vandalism, but there's really no way to know until we have confirmation. - --EDIT-- Since I wrote this, I've seen one source appear, in Portuguese[1]. It's still unclear whether this story is legitimate, or if they simply copied wikipedia / the buzz surrounding the story. - --EDIT 2-- Globo is apparently the largest media conglomerate…

[deleted]

Re: John McCarthy Has Died

#85

Post by umjames » Mon, Oct 24, 2011, 9:31 PM UTC

Isn't there something about deaths happening in 3s?

1. Steve Jobs

2. Dennis Ritchie

3. John McCarthy

Re: John McCarthy Has Died

#86

Post by gonzo » Mon, Oct 24, 2011, 9:33 PM UTC

xxcode wrote: post #64

I got a call this morning from his daughter that he has died this morning. Sorry to have him go.

his daughter... assuming you mean Susan.

Does that make her AI, or merely AI's sister?

Re: John McCarthy Has Died

#87

Post by SlipperySlope » Mon, Oct 24, 2011, 9:33 PM UTC

My primary development computer, over many generations of system builds, has always been named mccarthy.

Rest In Peace.

Re: John McCarthy Has Died

#88

Post by pg » Mon, Oct 24, 2011, 9:34 PM UTC

Unfortunately it's true. I just heard back from Peter Norvig, who says "He died peacefully in his sleep last night."

Re: John McCarthy Has Died

#89

Post by ColinWright » Mon, Oct 24, 2011, 9:34 PM UTC

In response to the skepticism being expressed, I've just had a message from Wendy Grossman saying:

   "... his daughter phoned me. I'm the
    ultimate source for the wikipedia entry."

Re: John McCarthy Has Died

#90

Post by chc » Mon, Oct 24, 2011, 9:34 PM UTC

Jun8 wrote: post #82

What, no HN black ribbon for McCarthy?

There was one for a little while, but it apparently got removed as there was uncertainty about the claim. I'm sure it'll be back soon.