How can you not be romantic about programming? (2020)

Re:How can you not be romantic about programming? (2020) by danwills on Sunday February 21, 2021 @03:37AM (#26211882)

This (awesome and inspiring) article doesn't really go into the philosophy much, but one thing I love in this direction is the way that programming lets us work directly with (abstract) computation - literally any rule-following system that can be described, can be explored.

Universal computation is still the max known complexity of any rule-following process, and it's also a low-bar, very easily attained: x86, RISC, GoL, rule 40, or smallest 2,3-Turing-machine - all are exactly equal in their total-computational-capability (merely with different translation needs on their input and output).

Ideas (fantasies?) of hyper-computation are fascinating, but what can that really mean? To follow instructions better than exactly? Surely it'd just be different types of faster!?

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Re:How can you not be romantic about programming? (2020) by Vhano on Sunday February 21, 2021 @03:55AM (#26211976)

I find the theory of computation spiritual/awe-inspiring but I'm doubtful of how much of our software workers in our time are in touch with that (and not entirely at a high abstraction distance)

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