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Laddar... Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About (2001)av Donald E. Knuth
   Ingen/inga Det finns inga diskussioner på LibraryThing om den här boken.   ) mrklingon | May 1, 2023 |  In 1997, I attended a professional conference at Stanford and saw Knuth in person when he gave a plenary address. His talk didn't stick with me, but I won't soon forget the unusual shirt he was wearing, which made him look like a devotee of some eastern religion. Well, he isn't. It turns out that Knuth is a lifelong Lutheran, that unusual shirt was made for him by one of his co-parishoners, and this book is Knuth's attempt to explain his faith and to relate it to his profession. This book is a quick and easy read. It's based on a series of 6 talks Knuth gave in a seminar on God and Computer Science at MIT. Much of the book is devoted to a discussion of Knuth's creation of the book 3:16 several years ago. That book dealt with the bible verses Genesis 3:16, Exodus 3:16, . . ., John 3:16, . . ., Revelation 3:16. With no knowledge of Hebrew, Greek, or Aramaic, Knuth came up with his own translation of each of these verses (using Strong's Concordance and similar tools), had a different world-class calligrapher write out each one, and then gave a 4 page analysis of each verse, based on his reading of every commentary he could get his hands on. In the course of discussing his 3:16 work, Knuth spends a chapter talking about language translation, which ties into Hofstadter's Le Ton Beau De Marot. In fact, in the Q&A session following the MIT lecture corresponding to this chapter, someone asked Knuth about Hofstadter's book, and he replied that he wasn't familiar with it (even though he apparently knows Hofstadter personally and Hofstadter's book had been in print for about 2 years at the time of the lecture). I think Knuth's decision not to be familiar with Le Ton Beau may have been a wise one! This book confirms my previous impression of Knuth as an eccentric. His choice of topics seems a bit unusual for a book ostensibly on science and religion. Several of his questioners at the MIT lectures seemed to share my mild disappointment. For example, one questioner after the final lecture asked "What do all these issues of computational complexity, infinity, and the positing of God have to do with good, bad, and purpose?" When he does open up, Knuth is revealed as a humble and devout Christian, with views leaning toward the liberal side of the spectrum. (It seems like he quotes Tillich--and Harvard's Peter Gomes--an awful lot.) (  ) cpg | May 16, 2020 | He says theologians, bible translations are more difficult than Computer Science, and mathematicians because there's more work involved, and scholarly opinion on each text. I learnt about sampling method, and how he learnt a lot by selecting sample verses from each chapter of the Bible. Other than, that I don't think he said something new. He's humble about this topic. Deus Vult, Gottfried. (  ) gottfried_leibniz | Apr 5, 2018 | He says theologians, bible translations are more difficult than Computer Science, and mathematicians because there's more work involved, and scholarly opinion on each text. I learnt about sampling method, and how he learnt a lot by selecting sample verses from each chapter of the Bible. Other than, that I don't think he said something new. He's humble about this topic. Deus Vult, Gottfried. ( ) gottfried_leibniz | Apr 5, 2018 | ) leandrod | Oct 4, 2017 | inga recensioner | lägg till en recension
Ingår i serienCSLI Lecture Notes (136)
How does a computer scientist understand infinity? What can probability theory teach us about free will? This book contains six informal lectures by computer scientist Donald E. Knuth exploring the relationship between his vocation and his faith.
In the fall of 1999, computer scientist Donald E. Knuth was invited to give six public lectures at MIT on the general subject of relations between faith and science. The lectures were broadcast live on the Internet and watched regularly by tens of thousands of people around the world, and they have remained popular many months after the event. This book contains transcripts of those lectures, edited and annotated by the author. After an introductory first lecture, the second one focusses on the interaction of randomization and religion, since randomization has become a key area of scientific interest during the past few decades. The third lecture considers questions of language translation, with many examples drawn from the author's experiments in which random verses of the Bible were analyzed in depth. The fourth lecture deals with art and aesthetics; it illustrates several ways in which beautiful presentations can greatly deepen our perception of difficult concepts. The fifth lecture discusses what the author learned from the "3:16 project," a personal exploration of Biblical literature which he regards as a turning point in his own life. The sixth and final lecture, "God and Computer Science," is largely independent of the other five. It deals with several new perspectives by which concepts of computer science help to shed light on many ancient and difficult questions previously addressed by scientists in other fields. A significant part of each lecture is devoted to spontaneous questions from the audience and the speaker's impromptu responses, transcribed from videotapes of the original sessions. The book concludes with a transcript of a panel discussion in which Knuth joins several other prominent computer specialists to discuss "Creativity, Spirituality, and Computer Science." The other panelists are Guy L. Steele Jr. of Sun Microsystems, Manuela Veloso of Carnegie Mellon University, and Mitch Kapor of Lotus Development Corporation, together with moderator Harry Lewis (Dean of Harvard College). The book includes over 100 illustrations and photographs. The author has contributed additional notes and a comprehensive index. - Publisher. Inga biblioteksbeskrivningar kunde hittas. |
Pågående diskussionerIngen/ingaPopulära omslag
 Google Books — Laddar...GenrerMelvil Decimal System (DDC)261.5Religions Christian church and church work Church and the world; Social theology and interreligious relations and attitudes Christianity and secular disciplinesKlassifikation enligt LCBetygMedelbetyg: (3.85)
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