Comments on: Don Knuth http://crookedtimber.org/2007/04/21/don-knuth/ Out of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made Sun, 27 May 2012 00:43:58 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Donald Johnson http://crookedtimber.org/2007/04/21/don-knuth/comment-page-1/#comment-194166 Donald Johnson Mon, 23 Apr 2007 15:32:14 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2007/04/21/don-knuth/#comment-194166 Why? I would think if you're doing a profile of someone you describe what they are like, what their interests are, etc... But I'm not very familiar with alumni magazines--I throw mine away on sight. Why? I would think if you’re doing a profile of someone you describe what they are like, what their interests are, etc…

But I’m not very familiar with alumni magazines—I throw mine away on sight.

]]> By: Doug http://crookedtimber.org/2007/04/21/don-knuth/comment-page-1/#comment-194129 Doug Mon, 23 Apr 2007 09:21:40 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2007/04/21/don-knuth/#comment-194129 "Odd that the article says so little about his religious interests." Or maybe, given that the profile is in an alumni magazine, not so odd. “Odd that the article says so little about his religious interests.”

Or maybe, given that the profile is in an alumni magazine, not so odd.

]]> By: bemused http://crookedtimber.org/2007/04/21/don-knuth/comment-page-1/#comment-194111 bemused Mon, 23 Apr 2007 03:38:43 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2007/04/21/don-knuth/#comment-194111 When I had my first full-time job maintaining and enhancing a component of Stanford's homebrew mainframe interactive system, Knuth once sent me a suggestion. It arrived as a stack of fanfold paper ... the suggestion in the form of a banner. When I had my first full-time job maintaining and enhancing a component of Stanford’s homebrew mainframe interactive system, Knuth once sent me a suggestion. It arrived as a stack of fanfold paper … the suggestion in the form of a banner.

]]> By: Bob Wieda http://crookedtimber.org/2007/04/21/don-knuth/comment-page-1/#comment-194097 Bob Wieda Mon, 23 Apr 2007 00:20:53 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2007/04/21/don-knuth/#comment-194097 <code> \documentclass[11pt]{article} \addtolength{\textwidth}{50pt} \addtolength{\evensidemargin}{-25pt} \addtolength{\oddsidemargin}{-25pt} \begin{document} \noindent {\Large Donald Knuth} \medskip \noindent TeX \medskip \noindent {\scriptsize Version 0.2 preliminary for review \today} \bigskip \noindent {\Large {\bf LaTeX Rulez }} \smallskip \begin{enumerate} \item For a $\$1.48$ (if I remember correctly) Donald showed the world software can indeed be both useful and bug free. </code>
documentclass[11pt]{article}

addtolength{textwidth}{50pt} addtolength{evensidemargin}{-25pt} addtolength{oddsidemargin}{-25pt}

begin{document}

noindent {Large Donald Knuth}

medskip

noindent TeX

medskip
noindent {scriptsize Version 0.2 preliminary for review today}
bigskip

noindent {Large {bf LaTeX Rulez }}

smallskip

begin{enumerate}

item For a $$1.48$ (if I remember correctly) Donald showed the world software can indeed be both useful and bug free.

]]> By: Kenny Easwaran http://crookedtimber.org/2007/04/21/don-knuth/comment-page-1/#comment-194084 Kenny Easwaran Sun, 22 Apr 2007 22:03:46 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2007/04/21/don-knuth/#comment-194084 Is there any good place online where one can learn how to write such good tex that you don't directly do things in the .tex file? I never realized there might be any reason to play with the .sty files myself. Is there any good place online where one can learn how to write such good tex that you don’t directly do things in the .tex file? I never realized there might be any reason to play with the .sty files myself.

]]> By: Donald Johnson http://crookedtimber.org/2007/04/21/don-knuth/comment-page-1/#comment-194059 Donald Johnson Sun, 22 Apr 2007 12:54:14 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2007/04/21/don-knuth/#comment-194059 Oops. That didn't come out right--I should have used some other symbol for the arrow. Oops. That didn’t come out right—I should have used some other symbol for the arrow.

]]> By: Donald Johnson http://crookedtimber.org/2007/04/21/don-knuth/comment-page-1/#comment-194058 Donald Johnson Sun, 22 Apr 2007 12:52:49 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2007/04/21/don-knuth/#comment-194058 Odd that the article says so little about his religious interests. He's written a book about Biblical interpretation (which I haven't read) and another about (in part) what computer science has to offer theology (I glanced at that one in a bookstore.) He also invented a system for writing really big finite numbers--the up arrow notation. 10^3 = 1000 (nothing new there) 10^^3 = 10^10^10 (read right to left) 10^^^3 = 10^^10^^10 (read right to left) 10 with N arrows B means B 10's with N-1 arrows between each pair.. In connection with theology, Knuth said once that he wouldn't care if eternal life meant forever or only 10^^^^3 years. For some reason I think coming up with a compact way to write inconceivably large finite numbers is really cool. Odd that the article says so little about his religious interests. He’s written a book about Biblical interpretation (which I haven’t read) and another about (in part) what computer science has to offer theology (I glanced at that one in a bookstore.)

He also invented a system for writing really big finite numbers—the up arrow notation.

10^3 = 1000 (nothing new there)

103 = 101010 (read right to left)

103 = 1010^10 (read right to left)

10 with N arrows B means B 10’s with N-1 arrows between each pair..

In connection with theology, Knuth said once that he wouldn’t care if eternal life meant forever or only 103 years.

For some reason I think coming up with a compact way to write inconceivably large finite numbers is really cool.

]]> By: A profile of Knuth and as essay by him « Entertaining Research http://crookedtimber.org/2007/04/21/don-knuth/comment-page-1/#comment-194032 A profile of Knuth and as essay by him « Entertaining Research Sun, 22 Apr 2007 04:47:27 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2007/04/21/don-knuth/#comment-194032 [...] From this profile of Knuth in Stanford Magazine; via Kieran Healy. [...] [...] From this profile of Knuth in Stanford Magazine; via Kieran Healy. [...]

]]> By: aa http://crookedtimber.org/2007/04/21/don-knuth/comment-page-1/#comment-194028 aa Sun, 22 Apr 2007 04:11:09 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2007/04/21/don-knuth/#comment-194028 ps the tex's unreadable in my post - the blog software obviously thinks I'm trying to talk to it. ps the tex’s unreadable in my post – the blog software obviously thinks I’m trying to talk to it.

]]> By: aa http://crookedtimber.org/2007/04/21/don-knuth/comment-page-1/#comment-194027 aa Sun, 22 Apr 2007 04:08:19 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2007/04/21/don-knuth/#comment-194027 #3 - The typesetting of mathematics in \TeX is effortless, since that's what it is built for. But $\int_{-\infty}^\infty e^{-x^2}\dx$ isn't \TeX encoding, other than the little macro for \dx that you have to put in to get the fonts right. My point is that sexy macros are not generally going to be found in .tex source files. And .sty files are generally a grim business, though some of them do beautiful things. #3 – The typesetting of mathematics in TeX is effortless, since that’s what it is built for. But $int_{-infty}infty e{-x^2}dx$ isn’t TeX encoding, other than the little macro for dx that you have to put in to get the fonts right.

My point is that sexy macros are not generally going to be found in .tex source files.

And .sty files are generally a grim business, though some of them do beautiful things.

]]> By: nick s http://crookedtimber.org/2007/04/21/don-knuth/comment-page-1/#comment-194026 nick s Sun, 22 Apr 2007 04:00:59 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2007/04/21/don-knuth/#comment-194026 Weird? I think that's eminently sensible. He's busy, on the kind of work that really does entail being in Csikszentmihalyi's flow state. b@1: as 'aa' says, .tex files shouldn't ordinarily provide much enlightenment, because the smart (and programmatic) approach is to abstract all the formatting magic into classes packages, .sty files and customisations thereof. That's part of the wondrous learning curve. Weird? I think that’s eminently sensible. He’s busy, on the kind of work that really does entail being in Csikszentmihalyi’s flow state.

b@1: as ‘aa’ says, .tex files shouldn’t ordinarily provide much enlightenment, because the smart (and programmatic) approach is to abstract all the formatting magic into classes packages, .sty files and customisations thereof. That’s part of the wondrous learning curve.

]]> By: dbomp http://crookedtimber.org/2007/04/21/don-knuth/comment-page-1/#comment-194023 dbomp Sun, 22 Apr 2007 03:11:22 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2007/04/21/don-knuth/#comment-194023 Donald Knuth is a genius, but he's too.. weird. If you want to contact him, you should make an appointment. He doesn't get email. Well, until his secretary prints it out and he responds every <a href="http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~knuth/email.html" rel="nofollow">three</a> or six months. Donald Knuth is a genius, but he’s too.. weird. If you want to contact him, you should make an appointment. He doesn’t get email. Well, until his secretary prints it out and he responds every three or six months.

]]> By: Graham http://crookedtimber.org/2007/04/21/don-knuth/comment-page-1/#comment-194018 Graham Sun, 22 Apr 2007 00:29:17 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2007/04/21/don-knuth/#comment-194018 I should note that typesetting mathematics can sometimes be sufficiently involved that the TeX encoding it can be worthwhile. I should note that typesetting mathematics can sometimes be sufficiently involved that the TeX encoding it can be worthwhile.

]]> By: aa http://crookedtimber.org/2007/04/21/don-knuth/comment-page-1/#comment-194002 aa Sat, 21 Apr 2007 20:43:12 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2007/04/21/don-knuth/#comment-194002 It makes sense to code HTML directly, up to a point. %(P=css) For \TeX it makes about as much sense as writing your own software---maybe what you want to see are .sty files. Or "beamer". It makes sense to code HTML directly, up to a point. %(P=css)
For TeX it makes about as much sense as writing your own software—-maybe what you want to see are .sty files.

Or “beamer”.

]]> By: B. http://crookedtimber.org/2007/04/21/don-knuth/comment-page-1/#comment-193999 B. Sat, 21 Apr 2007 19:33:37 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/2007/04/21/don-knuth/#comment-193999 While I have the ear of a small segment of the academic community, can I humbly make a request? When you're particularly proud of the formatting of some paper you publish, could you (somewhere) post the .tex file as well? I don't know where my HTML skillz would be without "view page source", and it'd be nice to see how people do their magic in LaTeX... While I have the ear of a small segment of the academic community, can I humbly make a request?

When you’re particularly proud of the formatting of some paper you publish, could you (somewhere) post the .tex file as well? I don’t know where my HTML skillz would be without “view page source”, and it’d be nice to see how people do their magic in LaTeX…

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