[PLUG] Lineage of early programmers

Mon Jun 8 21:40:29 UTC 2020

Computer science has always been a field that has an inordinately short
memory and which gets into silos and then re-re-reinvents things
over and over again.  I am not sure how you are able to engage people in
new things and get them to learn the lessons of the past in an effective
way. The current technologies tend to have a half-life of 18 months or so
before you are on to the creation of a new set of something or other.

Yet, here we are still running Operating systems that have not
fundamentally changed in the last 30 years.

On Mon, Jun 8, 2020 at 2:05 PM Russell Senior <russell at personaltelco.net>
wrote:

> I actually was a little bit disappointed, since the search space for
> potential changes was so small, he could have exhaustively checked all of
> the possibilities in a relatively short time without all the thinking. I
> had imagined a more exhaustive search. I mean, we were doing brute force
> search on Enigma and other codes ~30 years before Apollo. He only had a few
> likely things to try, it almost feels like cheating.
>
> I do get your general point about: a) better preservation practices going
> forward; and b) selecting worthwhile problems. On the other hand, these
> early days of computing were simple enough so that the problems are
> comprehensible in a way that modern complex systems (like a compiler or a
> wifi driver) are not. And the erosion of time can be repaired by
> application of some efforts, and as a result archaic technologies, though
> they may be, are preserved as example systems to inform future invention.
> Some looking backwards is still useful.
>
> --
> Russell Senior
> russell at personaltelco.net
>
>
> On Mon, Jun 8, 2020 at 1:35 PM Tomas Kuchta <tomas.kuchta.lists at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > That is truly remarkable.
> >
> > I am philosophically uncertain whether this amount of time/dedication
> from
> > such smart guy is actually positive effort to celebrate.
> >
> > My thinking goes along this line:
> > * The lessons to learn for the future - put stuff to public domain early
> > enough - so that qualified people/librarians/historians can chose what to
> > preserve and do it on cheap while it is fresh.
> > * The fact that this smart guy spends many man years on studying the past
> > without useful path to the future application - is a sign of lack of
> > current scientific opportunities.
> > * Surely - he should be very busy working on development of current
> landers
> > to whatever planet and solar system we want to relocate our elite to save
> > them from the climate destruction on this planet.
> > .....
> >
> > Tomas
> >
> > On Mon, Jun 8, 2020, 01:35 Russell Senior <russell at personaltelco.net>
> > wrote:
> >
> > > Utterly pointless, and yet delightful!
> > >
> > > See also: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JTa1RQxU04
> > >
> > >
> > > On Sun, Jun 7, 2020, 23:00 Tomas Kuchta <tomas.kuchta.lists at gmail.com>
> > > wrote:
> > >
> > > > Completely wrong analogy Russell.
> > > >
> > > > What you are describing is not linguistics but archeology!
> > > >
> > > > Tomas
> > > >
> > > > On Sun, Jun 7, 2020, 15:55 Russell Senior <russell at personaltelco.net
> >
> > > > wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > The other thing I'd add is that you have an understanding that
> > semantic
> > > > > ambiguities have to be resolved somehow, and there is likely to be
> a
> > > > marker
> > > > > in the language for resolving those ambiguities, and so you pay
> > > attention
> > > > > to where those clues might be.
> > > > >
> > > > > Right now I am working on reverse engineering a communications
> > protocol
> > > > > internal to a particular series of models of the IBM Wheelwriter
> > > > typewriter
> > > > > (mine is a WW5), and understanding where information originates,
> and
> > > > where
> > > > > it needs to go is a huge help in puzzling out what is likely to be
> > > going
> > > > > on, and that if a letter comes out on the paper, it got there for a
> > > > reason.
> > > > > Eventually, this project will be offered as a potential PLUG talk.
> > > > >
> > > > > On Sun, Jun 7, 2020 at 3:40 PM John Jason Jordan <johnxj at gmx.com>
> > > wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > > On Sun, 7 Jun 2020 14:38:17 -0700
> > > > > > Ali Corbin <ali.corbin at gmail.com> dijo:
> > > > > >
> > > > > > >No reference, but a personal anecdote.   In my first job, back
> in
> > > > > > >late 70's, the company was having problems finding people with
> CS
> > > > > > >degrees. They ended up going to colleges and recruiting language
> > > > > > >majors.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > I am a linguist, not a language major, but I have long observed
> > that
> > > > > > many language majors are such because they have found that they
> are
> > > > > > good at learning languages. And as a linguist (and one who is
> also
> > > good
> > > > > > at learning languages), the key to being good at learning
> languages
> > > is
> > > > > > an ability to recognize complex patterns unconsciously and store
> > them
> > > > > > in the deeper parts of the brain. And the more languages you
> learn
> > > the
> > > > > > easier it is to learn new ones, even ones that are unrelated to
> > your
> > > > > > current languages.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Those programmers who are proficient in more than one computer
> > > language
> > > > > > may find a kernel of truth in the above.
> > > > > > _______________________________________________
> > > > > > PLUG mailing list
> > > > > > PLUG at pdxlinux.org
> > > > > > http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
> > > > > >
> > > > > _______________________________________________
> > > > > PLUG mailing list
> > > > > PLUG at pdxlinux.org
> > > > > http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
> > > > >
> > > > _______________________________________________
> > > > PLUG mailing list
> > > > PLUG at pdxlinux.org
> > > > http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
> > > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > PLUG mailing list
> > > PLUG at pdxlinux.org
> > > http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
> > >
> > _______________________________________________
> > PLUG mailing list
> > PLUG at pdxlinux.org
> > http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
> >
> _______________________________________________
> PLUG mailing list
> PLUG at pdxlinux.org
> http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
>

-- 
[image: www.seattleangelconference.com]
<http://www.seattleangelconference.com/>

*JOHN SECHREST*
*Founder, *Seattle Angel Conference
TEL  (541) 250-0844    EMAIL  sechrest at seattleangel.com
Schedule A Meeting <https://sechrest.youcanbook.me/>

http://seattleangelconference.com
@sechrest