4 ms·

Back in 2015, I somehow ended up as part of a panel discussion at the end of a conference. The panel was going to include Joe Armstrong, Don Syme (inventor of F

Back in 2015, I somehow ended up as part of a panel discussion at the end of a conference. The panel was going to include Joe Armstrong, Don Syme (inventor of F#), Tony Hoare (!), and myself (a nobody compared to any of them). During the conference, I wanted to meet each of the other folks on the panel, and ended up in a somewhat lengthy conversation with Joe Armstrong -- mostly about Erlang, but at some point the panel itself came up. I mentioned how nervous I was; me, sitting on a panel with such other esteemed and brilliant folks -- of course referring to all of the other people on the panel, including Joe Armstrong himself. I'll never forget his response: "yeah, me too! Wow, Tony Hoare, seriously?!" I'm not sure if he deliberately misunderstood me or not, but it definitely put me more at ease, realising that there's always someone bigger, even for the folks you see as bigger than you! So sad to learn of his passing. RIP.

noblethrasher 7y ago
Not at all hard to believe that he was sincere. He seemed to be pretty starstruck when he was interviewing Alan Kay on stage just three years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhOHn9TClXY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhOHn9TClXY.
- codyb 7y ago
  And his twitter @joeerl [0] which I feel unfortunate to have just discovered today is filled with him discovering emojis and dictation, talking up the joys of letters, and discussing FPGAs. It’s sad to hear of his passing, and rewarding to see he was just as kind and curious as you could ever hope to be even just this month. [0] - https://mobile.twitter.com/joeerl https://mobile.twitter.com/joeerl
- vanderZwan 7y ago
  I was about to share this youtube channel, it has lots of wonderful videos with him - this particular one is a great example.
ahmedalsudani 7y ago
Joe always seemed like a super approachable and super humble guy. I never interacted with him but he always left a good taste in my mouth whenever I watched him on video--which happened quite often in the period during which I was obsessed with Erlang. It's a sad day...
mirekrusin 7y ago
Do you have recording of that session?
- plibither8 7y ago
  Seems to be this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hJ9UK08rZA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hJ9UK08rZA
kunthar 7y ago
quite interesting having to see again an estimation system based on primates size comprehension. it is supposed to use the brains but instead of this, it always ends up with primate comparison horseshit. because if you are talented, you already bypass monkey thinking patterns and can honestly express your thought.
- kjs3 7y ago
  I bet you're a real joy to be around at parties.
spooneybarger 7y ago
That jives with my personal experiences with Joe. I don't think he misunderstood you.
lkrubner 7y ago
Other people have already mentioned Joe Armstrong's 2003 thesis, and I recommend that too. I very much appreciate Armstrong's sometimes contrarian criticism of the tech industry, and I hope I managed to match the tenor of his frustration when I wrote "Joe Armstrong figured out the right way to do everything, and nobody cared" http://www.smashcompany.com/technology/joe-armstrong-figured-out-the-right-way-to-do-everything-and-nobody-cared http://www.smashcompany.com/technology/joe-armstrong-figured... About this: "I mentioned how nervous I was; me, sitting on a panel with such other esteemed and brilliant folks" I feel the same when I get put into lists with folks like Joe Armstrong. I've made no significant contributions to the tech industry, whereas other folks have made historic contributions. I'm flattered by stuff like this: https://www.yegor256.com/2016/08/15/what-is-wrong-object-oriented-programming.html https://www.yegor256.com/2016/08/15/what-is-wrong-object-ori... But it is crazy. I don't belong on a page that includes Joe Armstrong, Rich Hickey and Alan Kay.

noblethrasher 7y ago

Not at all hard to believe that he was sincere. He seemed to be pretty starstruck when he was interviewing Alan Kay on stage just three years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhOHn9TClXY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhOHn9TClXY.

codyb 7y ago
And his twitter @joeerl [0] which I feel unfortunate to have just discovered today is filled with him discovering emojis and dictation, talking up the joys of letters, and discussing FPGAs. It’s sad to hear of his passing, and rewarding to see he was just as kind and curious as you could ever hope to be even just this month. [0] - https://mobile.twitter.com/joeerl https://mobile.twitter.com/joeerl
vanderZwan 7y ago
I was about to share this youtube channel, it has lots of wonderful videos with him - this particular one is a great example.

ahmedalsudani 7y ago

Joe always seemed like a super approachable and super humble guy. I never interacted with him but he always left a good taste in my mouth whenever I watched him on video--which happened quite often in the period during which I was obsessed with Erlang. It's a sad day...

mirekrusin 7y ago

Do you have recording of that session?

plibither8 7y ago
Seems to be this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hJ9UK08rZA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hJ9UK08rZA

kunthar 7y ago

quite interesting having to see again an estimation system based on primates size comprehension. it is supposed to use the brains but instead of this, it always ends up with primate comparison horseshit. because if you are talented, you already bypass monkey thinking patterns and can honestly express your thought.

kjs3 7y ago
I bet you're a real joy to be around at parties.

spooneybarger 7y ago

That jives with my personal experiences with Joe. I don't think he misunderstood you.

lkrubner 7y ago

Other people have already mentioned Joe Armstrong's 2003 thesis, and I recommend that too. I very much appreciate Armstrong's sometimes contrarian criticism of the tech industry, and I hope I managed to match the tenor of his frustration when I wrote "Joe Armstrong figured out the right way to do everything, and nobody cared" http://www.smashcompany.com/technology/joe-armstrong-figured-out-the-right-way-to-do-everything-and-nobody-cared http://www.smashcompany.com/technology/joe-armstrong-figured... About this: "I mentioned how nervous I was; me, sitting on a panel with such other esteemed and brilliant folks" I feel the same when I get put into lists with folks like Joe Armstrong. I've made no significant contributions to the tech industry, whereas other folks have made historic contributions. I'm flattered by stuff like this: https://www.yegor256.com/2016/08/15/what-is-wrong-object-oriented-programming.html https://www.yegor256.com/2016/08/15/what-is-wrong-object-ori... But it is crazy. I don't belong on a page that includes Joe Armstrong, Rich Hickey and Alan Kay.