The binary heap is not Knuth's algorithm. He just analyzed it in great detail at a time where caches weren't as important as they are now. If Knuth were startin

The binary heap is not Knuth's algorithm. He just analyzed it in great detail at a time where caches weren't as important as they are now. If Knuth were starting out today, I'm sure he would be interested in cache-aware algorithm analysis. I really don't think Knuth of all people can be held up as an impractical egghead. Compared to many other academics, he has always maintained a view towards real computers.