4 ms·
Wikinews mourns loss of volunteer John Shutt
- ignoranceprior 6y agoDidn't recognize his real name but once I saw his username was Pi zero I immediately knew he who he was. He was one of the most prolific contributors to Wikinews. Sad news for the project and his family.
- QuesnayJr 6y agoFor HN readers, he's probably most famous as the inventor of the Kernel programming language. We just had a thread about it two weeks ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26162673 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26162673
- bawolff 6y agoAs someone who used to hang around wikinews a lot, its both interesting and in a way sad, to only find out about Pi Zero's other interests after he passed. I know we all have lives outside of our screen names, but sometimes its easy to forget that. Anyways, in the capacity i knew him, he was always a kind caring, rational voice. One which will be missed.
- acagastya 6y agoPi zero separated his wiki-identity and real life identity. When his family told me about his death, I contacted a number of people who knew Dr Shutt academically. They were unaware of his work on-wiki just like most Wikimedians didn't know about his work outsite Wikinews. It was my fortune to have known about his work both on and off wiki.
- oxymoron 6y agoI think this explanation of the core ideas in kernel deserves more attention: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26170536 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26170536
- miloignis 6y agoOh my gosh! I found his Kernel work so inspiring, I, like many others, implemented a version in a hobby project. I was always happy to see his comments when I was reading Lambda the Ultimate, excited to see his always carefully thought out and unique perspective. I'm sad I'll never be able to chat with him directly about his ideas. Learning he was so prolific in other areas isn't surprising, but it is impressive. RIP to a great mind, and best wishes for his family.
- spindle 6y agoI knew John Shutt from a number of email correspondences. As someone who's taught foundations of physics at top universities, I found his work in that area EXTREMELY impressive. I haven't seen it mentioned in his obituaries yet. He was also a lovely person. I'm so sorry he's passed away. Does anyone know how I can send condolences to his family?
- acagastya 6y agoI have been speaking with family, and if you would like, I can pass your condolences.
- jessriedel 6y agoCan you recommend any particular references for his work in the foundations of physics?
- spindle 6y agoYes, his blog: https://fexpr.blogspot.com https://fexpr.blogspot.com. As far as I know he never published his physics ideas anywhere else.
- geoduck14 6y agoLife is short. As you mourn John's passing, take a moment to reflect on the relationships you have built over the years. Take some time to reach out and tell someone you appreciate them.
- foolinaround 6y agotoo young to go... RIP
- tgbugs 6y agoI am greatly saddened to hear this. I came to know about him through his work on fexprs (he was one of the world's leading experts on fexprs due to his work on Kernel). His insights on language design, his general willingness to share his own learning process, and his seemingly unquenchable curiosity will be missed. Of interest to those here might be his many posts on LtU [0]. 0. http://lambda-the-ultimate.org/user/7549/track http://lambda-the-ultimate.org/user/7549/track
- 5etho 6y agodamn, prominent wikipedists should be memorised by united nations. Also imho wikipedia should be financed by united nations or something like world bank
- wly_cdgr 6y agoRIP :( <3