5 ms·

Knuth 3:16 (2002)

68 points by stepvhen 11y ago

bcook 11y ago
Is this supposed to be satirical? I am obviously missing something... What site is it satirizing?
- josso 11y ago
  Probably Donald Knuth's book "3:16 Bible Texts Illuminated" where Knuth goes through chapter 3, verse 16, of most books in the Bible. http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~uno/316.html http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~uno/316.html http://www.amazon.com/3-16-Bible-Texts-Illuminated/dp/0895792524 http://www.amazon.com/3-16-Bible-Texts-Illuminated/dp/089579... While we’re at it, Knuth has also released a book (which is just transcripts of 5-6 lectures) wherein he discusses the 3:16 project: "Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About" http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~uno/things.html http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~uno/things.html http://www.amazon.com/Things-Computer-Scientist-Language-Information/dp/157586326X http://www.amazon.com/Things-Computer-Scientist-Language-Inf...
- dalke 11y ago
  It is satirical. If you go to the main page, at http://www.larry.denenberg.com/ http://www.larry.denenberg.com/ , you'll see this is described as "a celebration of Don Knuth". The jokes require you to understand who Donald Knuth is and what he's done. A premise is that we're in the far future (20002), and some of the details are fuzzy. It starts with the title. "Knuth 3:16" makes it sound like Knuth wrote one of the books of the bible. Among CS researches, Knuth's works are held in high esteem. The "3:16" part more specifically refers to Knuth's study of chapter 3 verse 16 of every book of the Bible. See http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~uno/316.html http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~uno/316.html . The analysis is of the 16'th sentence of the 3rd chapter of some of Knuth's (presumed) most famous works, plus commentary. "He was an enthusiastic musician" likely refers to the organ in his house http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~uno/organ.html http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~uno/organ.html . The text "he started life as a college football coach" refers to Knute Rockne, who is shown in the picture. This is a joke on the similarity of Knuth and Knute, with the premise that in 20002 these two famous people have been blurred into one. "Big Dummies Guide to Visual Basic" refers to a Dr. Fun (2000) cartoon at http://www.ibiblio.org/Dave/Dr-Fun/df200002/df20000210.jpg http://www.ibiblio.org/Dave/Dr-Fun/df200002/df20000210.jpg as if it were real.
  - mtdewcmu 11y ago
    I didn't get the joke. I headed over to wikipedia to confirm that Knuth was not dead.
    - Numberwang 11y ago
      You made me feel a bit better that I wasn't alone in this.
      - saberduck 11y ago
        I did exactly the same...
        devillius 11y ago
        Came here to report this too.
  - shoover 11y ago
    I don't get why it said he has never held a position of any present-day institution.
    - tjr 11y ago
      Must be implying that Stanford is no longer around in 20002.
      - shoover 11y ago
        Heh, ok, I missed the 20002. I dunno, if any institution hangs around that long (including some form of www hosting for the OP), maybe Stanford has a chance, if not a copy of wikipedia or Knuth's books.
  - muddi900 11y ago
    I thought 3:16 was Stone Cold Steve Austin reference. He himself was satirizing Jake the Snake's Bible thumping
- earleybird 11y ago
  I can't possibly be satire, it must be "historical records"[0] [0] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0177789/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0177789/
pqhwan 11y ago
The title should really read "Knuth 3:16 (20002)" >> Copyright © 20002 Larry Denenberg
- dang 11y ago
  I think we'll go with https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.larry.denenberg.com/Knuth-3-16/ https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.larry.denenberg.com....
- bcook 11y ago
  Absolutely. This would have helped me get the joke.
- stepvhen 11y ago
  I'll be honest, thought it was a typo. I should have checked the source of the webpage: > Copyright © 20002 Larry Denenberg > Not a typo. Copyright 2002 Larry Denenberg
jcr 11y ago
>"He was an enthusiastic musician, though exactly which was his instrument is a subject of some dispute (the most likely candidates are the accordion, jew's harp, and flugelhorn)." It seems the author missed or forgot the legendary pipe organ. http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~uno/organ.html http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~uno/organ.html
- rjtobin 11y ago
  I think this was a joke (along with all the other details of Knuth that have been lost or confused in the intervening 17,986 years)
johntaitorg 11y ago
Luke 14:34-35
stepvhen 11y ago
There are comments in the source of the website, explaining most of what people have asked here, including where he has taught, his organ, mistaking his identity for a football coach and bird watcher, and a plea to not be emailed that Donald Knuth is still alive. On the other pages there appears to be more information available about passages chosen, and other fun bits. Check it out.

Knuth 3:16 (2002)

68 points by stepvhen 11y ago

bcook 11y ago

Is this supposed to be satirical? I am obviously missing something... What site is it satirizing?

josso 11y ago
Probably Donald Knuth's book "3:16 Bible Texts Illuminated" where Knuth goes through chapter 3, verse 16, of most books in the Bible. http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~uno/316.html http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~uno/316.html http://www.amazon.com/3-16-Bible-Texts-Illuminated/dp/0895792524 http://www.amazon.com/3-16-Bible-Texts-Illuminated/dp/089579... While we’re at it, Knuth has also released a book (which is just transcripts of 5-6 lectures) wherein he discusses the 3:16 project: "Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About" http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~uno/things.html http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~uno/things.html http://www.amazon.com/Things-Computer-Scientist-Language-Information/dp/157586326X http://www.amazon.com/Things-Computer-Scientist-Language-Inf...
dalke 11y ago
It is satirical. If you go to the main page, at http://www.larry.denenberg.com/ http://www.larry.denenberg.com/ , you'll see this is described as "a celebration of Don Knuth". The jokes require you to understand who Donald Knuth is and what he's done. A premise is that we're in the far future (20002), and some of the details are fuzzy. It starts with the title. "Knuth 3:16" makes it sound like Knuth wrote one of the books of the bible. Among CS researches, Knuth's works are held in high esteem. The "3:16" part more specifically refers to Knuth's study of chapter 3 verse 16 of every book of the Bible. See http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~uno/316.html http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~uno/316.html . The analysis is of the 16'th sentence of the 3rd chapter of some of Knuth's (presumed) most famous works, plus commentary. "He was an enthusiastic musician" likely refers to the organ in his house http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~uno/organ.html http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~uno/organ.html . The text "he started life as a college football coach" refers to Knute Rockne, who is shown in the picture. This is a joke on the similarity of Knuth and Knute, with the premise that in 20002 these two famous people have been blurred into one. "Big Dummies Guide to Visual Basic" refers to a Dr. Fun (2000) cartoon at http://www.ibiblio.org/Dave/Dr-Fun/df200002/df20000210.jpg http://www.ibiblio.org/Dave/Dr-Fun/df200002/df20000210.jpg as if it were real.
- mtdewcmu 11y ago
  I didn't get the joke. I headed over to wikipedia to confirm that Knuth was not dead.
  - Numberwang 11y ago
    You made me feel a bit better that I wasn't alone in this.
    - saberduck 11y ago
      I did exactly the same...
      - devillius 11y ago
        Came here to report this too.
- shoover 11y ago
  I don't get why it said he has never held a position of any present-day institution.
  - tjr 11y ago
    Must be implying that Stanford is no longer around in 20002.
    - shoover 11y ago
      Heh, ok, I missed the 20002. I dunno, if any institution hangs around that long (including some form of www hosting for the OP), maybe Stanford has a chance, if not a copy of wikipedia or Knuth's books.
- muddi900 11y ago
  I thought 3:16 was Stone Cold Steve Austin reference. He himself was satirizing Jake the Snake's Bible thumping
earleybird 11y ago
I can't possibly be satire, it must be "historical records"[0] [0] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0177789/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0177789/

pqhwan 11y ago

dang 11y ago
I think we'll go with https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.larry.denenberg.com/Knuth-3-16/ https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.larry.denenberg.com....
bcook 11y ago
Absolutely. This would have helped me get the joke.
stepvhen 11y ago
I'll be honest, thought it was a typo. I should have checked the source of the webpage: > Copyright © 20002 Larry Denenberg > Not a typo. Copyright 2002 Larry Denenberg

jcr 11y ago

>"He was an enthusiastic musician, though exactly which was his instrument is a subject of some dispute (the most likely candidates are the accordion, jew's harp, and flugelhorn)." It seems the author missed or forgot the legendary pipe organ. http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~uno/organ.html http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~uno/organ.html

rjtobin 11y ago
I think this was a joke (along with all the other details of Knuth that have been lost or confused in the intervening 17,986 years)

johntaitorg 11y ago

Luke 14:34-35

stepvhen 11y ago

There are comments in the source of the website, explaining most of what people have asked here, including where he has taught, his organ, mistaking his identity for a football coach and bird watcher, and a plea to not be emailed that Donald Knuth is still alive. On the other pages there appears to be more information available about passages chosen, and other fun bits. Check it out.