Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit | kontorStol's comments login

I recommend this video to you: Oral History of Donald Knuth Part 1 and 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp7GAKLSGnI on The Computer History Museum Youtube channel.

It's a _really_ long interview, +7 hours. But it's also superb. He is interviewed by his friend and colleague Edward Feigenbaum who does a stellar job. He brings out the human Donald Knuth in a remarkable way.

It gave me great respect and admiration for Donald Knuth life and achievements. For me I dare to say it was transformative in regards to human pursuit of knowledge, passion and what it means to be a intellectual human being.

td;dr: Watched a Donald Knuth interview and got a nerd crush


"I think Kuhn goes so far as to say that sometimes the old paradigm can only be laid to rest when its last proponents die." Or sometimes the old paradigm turns into religion


"A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it." -- Max Planck https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Max_Planck

Or the shorthand version "Science advances one funeral at at a time."


I recognized the name Veblen and saw Thorstein was the uncle to Oswald Veblen, one of the founders of the Institute for Advanced Studies at Princeton.



Consider applying for YC's Spring batch! Applications are open till Feb 11.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: