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All of Dijkstra's EWDs are manuscripts[1]. As far as I know all of his seminal algorithmic work was done with pen and paper. When he was first programming it wa

by User23 5y ago

All of Dijkstra's EWDs are manuscripts[1]. As far as I know all of his seminal algorithmic work was done with pen and paper. When he was first programming it was just after the second World War and Dutch programmers could only manage to beg about 1 hour of computer time a week from the US occupation. So they got very good at writing programs with the technology they did have, pen and paper. As always, restrictions breed creativity. I personally really enjoy pen because it makes you own your mistakes. [1] https://www.cs.utexas.edu/~EWD/ https://www.cs.utexas.edu/~EWD/

rramadass 5y ago
Hello, my fellow Dijkstra Fan! I too started to push myself to use pen and paper before coding because i was inspired by his EWDs. Being one of the greatest proponents of Method/Discipline/Rigor in Thought i figured it would be wise of me to emulate the Master unquestioningly. And it worked! I think a lot of people here are not getting the gist behind the use of pen and paper; so let me try to summarize it; * They do not limit the concrete expression of any concept/thought that you might have. You can use text, symbols, invent new symbols, connect them in any fashion you choose etc. etc. They are free form and become an extension of your mind. See also the book; The Body Has a Mind of Its Own: How Body Maps in Your Brain Help You Do (Almost) Everything Better. * They force you to slow down your thoughts i.e. still your chaotic mind and help focus on the problem and its various aspects. This is invaluable in today's world filled with distractions. The books by Cal Newport are applicable here. * If you choose to make your notes public, it adds another layer of discipline to really understand the subject matter since you have to anticipate possible objections and have the answers ready. * Finally, they help clear your mind of the inessentials allowing you to ruminate and manipulate the essentials more effectively. Yet ancillary data is always available as needed. If you look at History, all the greats wrote prodigiously. I firmly believe that it was one of the defining factors which directly led to their eminence. I was first inspired by the Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci (get the 2-vol large prints by Dover) before i started noticing the pattern. PS: I read somewhere that Dijkstra wrote one of the first Operating Systems; The "THE" Operating System by hand on paper!

by User23 5y ago

rramadass 5y ago

Hello, my fellow Dijkstra Fan! I too started to push myself to use pen and paper before coding because i was inspired by his EWDs. Being one of the greatest proponents of Method/Discipline/Rigor in Thought i figured it would be wise of me to emulate the Master unquestioningly. And it worked! I think a lot of people here are not getting the gist behind the use of pen and paper; so let me try to summarize it; * They do not limit the concrete expression of any concept/thought that you might have. You can use text, symbols, invent new symbols, connect them in any fashion you choose etc. etc. They are free form and become an extension of your mind. See also the book; The Body Has a Mind of Its Own: How Body Maps in Your Brain Help You Do (Almost) Everything Better. * They force you to slow down your thoughts i.e. still your chaotic mind and help focus on the problem and its various aspects. This is invaluable in today's world filled with distractions. The books by Cal Newport are applicable here. * If you choose to make your notes public, it adds another layer of discipline to really understand the subject matter since you have to anticipate possible objections and have the answers ready. * Finally, they help clear your mind of the inessentials allowing you to ruminate and manipulate the essentials more effectively. Yet ancillary data is always available as needed. If you look at History, all the greats wrote prodigiously. I firmly believe that it was one of the defining factors which directly led to their eminence. I was first inspired by the Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci (get the 2-vol large prints by Dover) before i started noticing the pattern. PS: I read somewhere that Dijkstra wrote one of the first Operating Systems; The "THE" Operating System by hand on paper!