User:Edmund: Difference between revisions
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In my day job(s), a translator from Russian to English specializing in arts and technology-related material; also a philosopher / descriptive logician. My first book, <i>Towards a Science of Belief Systems</i>, was published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2014. My second is scheduled to appear in late 2016. |
In my day job(s), a translator from Russian to English specializing in arts and technology-related material; also a philosopher / descriptive logician. My first book, <i>Towards a Science of Belief Systems</i>, was published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2014. My second is scheduled to appear in late 2016. |
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Hobbyist programmer. I find programming to be a profoundly educational activity, and I think it's a shame more non-professionals don't do it—especially given how much |
Hobbyist programmer. I find programming to be a profoundly educational activity, and I think it's a shame more non-professionals don't do it—especially given how much many of us rely on computers. To encourage more people to learn, I've written a very short tutorial called <i>Programming Degree Zero</i>, to be used with a minimal computer that can be programmed in binary machine code from a simulated front panel in a browser window. If you're interested, check out the tutorial at http://www.edmundgriffiths.com/degreezero.html and the minimal computer at http://www.edmundgriffiths.com/czero.html. The implementation of the iterated prisoner's dilemma with AI opponent in 32 bytes of code and data is probably the one program I've ever written that I'm genuinely proud of. |
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The programming languages I like the best tend to be ones that embody a clear model of computation and a clear aesthetic vision. (In Larry Wall's terms I am a doctrinaire 'modernist'). I enjoy the verbosity of COBOL, and the terseness of APL. In fact, I think I've liked every language I've ever seen that <i>didn't</i> obey normal operator precedence—because that's always a sign that a language is built according to some coherent principle. I also approve strongly of languages created for educational purposes and for non-specialists, such as BASIC and Logo. |
The programming languages I like the best tend to be ones that embody a clear model of computation and a clear aesthetic vision. (In Larry Wall's terms I am a doctrinaire 'modernist'). I enjoy the verbosity of COBOL, and the terseness of APL. In fact, I think I've liked every language I've ever seen that <i>didn't</i> obey normal operator precedence—because that's always a sign that a language is built according to some coherent principle. I also approve strongly of languages created for educational purposes and for non-specialists, such as BASIC and Logo. |