3 ms·

I once read a short biography of Donald who put forth the image of a gentlemen who often eschewed most of lifes pleasantries and small enjoyments in pursuit of

I once read a short biography of Donald who put forth the image of a gentlemen who often eschewed most of lifes pleasantries and small enjoyments in pursuit of spending most of his life in his library, studying, with little brain capacity remaining for anything else. Given this, I pictured a somewhat solitary gentleman - a slightly more dignified version of a modern nerdy basement dweller, disconnected from modern life and humour. Therefore I find great joy in seeing the words "Bank of San Seriffe". I giggled quite a lot at this. :) Ps. This description is probably entirely wrong. It's just how I always pictured him as a result of reading that article.

svat 7y ago
His first publication, as a high-school student, was in MAD magazine. His books are full of jokes, both highly technical ones and more trivial ones. :-) If you have some mathematical inclination and a couple of hours to spare, you may like watching his (1-hour) Christmas lecture from 2017: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxQw4CdxLr8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxQw4CdxLr8 — you may need to listen carefully (he's over 80 after all), but some of his humour comes through at moments.
kontorStol 7y ago
I recommend this video to you: Oral History of Donald Knuth Part 1 and 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp7GAKLSGnI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp7GAKLSGnI on The Computer History Museum Youtube channel. It's a _really_ long interview, +7 hours. But it's also superb. He is interviewed by his friend and colleague Edward Feigenbaum who does a stellar job. He brings out the human Donald Knuth in a remarkable way. It gave me great respect and admiration for Donald Knuth life and achievements. For me I dare to say it was transformative in regards to human pursuit of knowledge, passion and what it means to be a intellectual human being. td;dr: Watched a Donald Knuth interview and got a nerd crush

svat 7y ago

His first publication, as a high-school student, was in MAD magazine. His books are full of jokes, both highly technical ones and more trivial ones. :-) If you have some mathematical inclination and a couple of hours to spare, you may like watching his (1-hour) Christmas lecture from 2017: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxQw4CdxLr8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxQw4CdxLr8 — you may need to listen carefully (he's over 80 after all), but some of his humour comes through at moments.

kontorStol 7y ago

I recommend this video to you: Oral History of Donald Knuth Part 1 and 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp7GAKLSGnI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp7GAKLSGnI on The Computer History Museum Youtube channel. It's a _really_ long interview, +7 hours. But it's also superb. He is interviewed by his friend and colleague Edward Feigenbaum who does a stellar job. He brings out the human Donald Knuth in a remarkable way. It gave me great respect and admiration for Donald Knuth life and achievements. For me I dare to say it was transformative in regards to human pursuit of knowledge, passion and what it means to be a intellectual human being. td;dr: Watched a Donald Knuth interview and got a nerd crush