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> Most programmers do not know what lambda calculus is I would frankly be shocked if a 4 year syllabus in CS these days just skipped any mention of Alonzo Chur

> Most programmers do not know what lambda calculus is I would frankly be shocked if a 4 year syllabus in CS these days just skipped any mention of Alonzo Church, especially considering that it's fundamental to functional programming and theoretical computer science... Maybe it's not taught in "CS" programs that are actually just "practical software engineering" bootcamps with extra steps. The real nerds know about lambdas. They're even literally called that in Ruby (and possibly other languages).

akkad33 2y ago
There can't be a more democratized language than Python and in Python closures are defined literally using lambda keyword
- IshKebab 2y ago
  I guarantee that 99% of Python programmers just think that's a weird way of saying an anonymous function. Hell I used lambda functions in C++ for years without knowing what lambda calculus is. And C++ doesn't even use `lambda`.
  - akkad33 2y ago
    Sure, but that also means this kind of syntax does not alienate people just because they don't know what lambda calculus is. And they will appreciate it even more when one day they get curious and look up why it is called a lambda
IshKebab 2y ago
Brace yourself... most programmers don't have a CS degree. Yes really.
- anacrolix 2y ago
  It cannot be
- pjmlp 2y ago
  Depends on where they are on the globe. In many places that won't get them through HR, nor calling oneself Software Engineer is legally allowed without a corresponding degree.
throwaway2037 2y ago
FYI: I have a computer science degree. I never learned any functional programming, nor lambda calculus during university. I learned about both topics in my late 30s as a professional.
- 3836293648 2y ago
  Your school should lose its accreditation. Your programme is an absolute failure and sounds like they called their software engineering programme computer science
- pmarreck 2y ago
  I find this insane, considering how important I find it now. Honestly, I didn't take enough CS to get into functional langs, but I did learn what a lambda was. The importance of it all came later, after years of struggling with bugs in million-line codebases that wouldn't have even existed in an immutable, functional language without inheritance.

akkad33 2y ago

There can't be a more democratized language than Python and in Python closures are defined literally using lambda keyword

IshKebab 2y ago
I guarantee that 99% of Python programmers just think that's a weird way of saying an anonymous function. Hell I used lambda functions in C++ for years without knowing what lambda calculus is. And C++ doesn't even use `lambda`.
- akkad33 2y ago
  Sure, but that also means this kind of syntax does not alienate people just because they don't know what lambda calculus is. And they will appreciate it even more when one day they get curious and look up why it is called a lambda

IshKebab 2y ago

Brace yourself... most programmers don't have a CS degree. Yes really.

anacrolix 2y ago
It cannot be
pjmlp 2y ago
Depends on where they are on the globe. In many places that won't get them through HR, nor calling oneself Software Engineer is legally allowed without a corresponding degree.

throwaway2037 2y ago

FYI: I have a computer science degree. I never learned any functional programming, nor lambda calculus during university. I learned about both topics in my late 30s as a professional.

3836293648 2y ago
Your school should lose its accreditation. Your programme is an absolute failure and sounds like they called their software engineering programme computer science
pmarreck 2y ago
I find this insane, considering how important I find it now. Honestly, I didn't take enough CS to get into functional langs, but I did learn what a lambda was. The importance of it all came later, after years of struggling with bugs in million-line codebases that wouldn't have even existed in an immutable, functional language without inheritance.