This is probably just my own bias as a physicist coming in, but I found the opposite conclusion from what he saw. He spoke of how Godel took him to computation

This is probably just my own bias as a physicist coming in, but I found the opposite conclusion from what he saw. He spoke of how Godel took him to computation and computer science, where function and purpose are essential. However, I'd say that the uselessness of purpose is most evident in computer science. To take a trivial example: double square(double x) { return x * x * x; } If you look at the purpose of that function, it's to return the square of a number. However, if you treat it as just a big pile of code, you'll see that it's going to return the cube. Looking at purpose focuses your mind on a model of how the world should be and distracts you from what it really is. The purpose of the eye is to collect as much light as possible, but the layout of the retina isn't setup for that. The purpose of a business is to make money, but the actual accounts can still be in the red. Looking at the purpose can be a useful crutch when the system matches its purpose, but looking at the big pile of goop is best in the real world where things don't always go as planned.