3 ms·
First time I saw (+ 1 2), I thought it was a typo. Spent an hour trying to “fix” it into (1 + 2). My professor let me. Then he pointed at the REPL and said, “Th
by DadBase 1y ago
First time I saw (+ 1 2), I thought it was a typo. Spent an hour trying to “fix” it into (1 + 2). My professor let me. Then he pointed at the REPL and said, “That’s not math—it’s music.” Never forgot that. The '? That’s the silent note.
- no_wizard 1y agoIt's due to Polish notation[0] as far as I understand it. This is how that notation for mathematics works. I suppose my suggestion would break those semantics. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_notation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_notation
- DadBase 1y agoAye, Polish notation sure. But what he gave me wasn’t a lecture, it was a spell. Syntax mattered less than rhythm. Parens weren’t fences, they were measures. The REPL didn’t care if I understood. It played anyway.
- obi2kenobi 1y agoBeautiful. I wish I had more professors who expressed concepts poetically back when I was in school. That's the kind of line that sticks in your head.