Amazing! I've often wondered whether it would be possible to temporarily re-engineer myself into a tool for solving a specific hard problem. I'm just re-readi

Amazing! I've often wondered whether it would be possible to temporarily re-engineer myself into a tool for solving a specific hard problem. I'm just re-reading On Lisp, and I'm struck by the similarity to the bottom-up programming paradigm. You build the language up to your problem, as well as breaking the problem down to your language. This reminds me of the Focused in Vernor Vinge's A Deepness in the Sky. In that case, they were no better than slaves, but one could imagine voluntary focusing. Like the book's protagonist, I was at once horrified by the conditions of the subjects, but thrilled by the prospect of human automation.