Computer Science - A Guide for the Perplexed • Joe Armstrong • GOTO 2018
Why Hacker News recommends it
HN calls it a superb, funny and engaging talk, and links it often after Armstrong's death as one of his best.
What it is
Joe Armstrong's GOTO 2018 talk contrasts the problems computer scientists study with the problems users have. He revisits forgotten great ideas such as tuple spaces, flow-based programming, Xanadu and Unix pipes, with anecdotes.
Recommended by 3 HN commenters across 2 different months, 2019 to 2021.
What Hacker News said
Strong rec djhworld · 2019-04 · on “Joe Armstrong has died”
This is devastating, RIP. I watched this talk a few months ago [this video] called "Computer Science - A Guide for the Perplexed" It was superb, I think it's unfortunate that he had to rush through it because of time constraints, his anecdotes and delivery were really engaging and funny.
Strong rec vector_spaces · 2021-01 · on “Let's Not Dumb Down the History of Computer Science (2014)”
One of my favorite talks by Joe Armstrong -- computer science, a guide for the perplexed. He talks through what he feels are some important but forgotten ideas in CS [this video]
Recommends dpeck · 2019-04 · on “Joe Armstrong has died”
That is so sad, he was in his late 60s and it seemed like he had a lot of life left in him, talking about how software can get better and having a great (and sometimes snarky) outlook on the profession. Highly recommend his thesis (2003) and a few of his great interviews/presentations for anyone who isn’t familiar with Joe, it captures a lot of what he thought about and pushed for in his professional life. [LINK] [LINK] [LINK] [this video] I hope his family and friends can find some comfort in how much he was appreciated and admired in the development community.
Cites namelosw · 2019-08 · on “Alan Kay's answer to ‘what are some forgotten books programmers should read?’”
Joe Amstrong had a related talk 'A Guide for the Perplexed'[0] last year. He mentioned several 'forgotten great ideas' such as Linda Tuple Spaces, Flow-based programming, Xanadu and Unix pipes. [0] [this video]