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author Henry Thompson <ht@markup.co.uk>
date Thu, 31 Oct 2024 11:56:34 -0400
parents 2a14525c412e
children 3e8d707ab7b5
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16:2a14525c412e 17:2b61f4d08893
29 Experiment ran, wrapped and went back to Ottawa. He wanted to stay in 29 Experiment ran, wrapped and went back to Ottawa. He wanted to stay in
30 US, they ended up (autumn 1971? 1972?) living with his parents in 30 US, they ended up (autumn 1971? 1972?) living with his parents in
31 Cambridge, where WCS was by then head of the new Center for the Study 31 Cambridge, where WCS was by then head of the new Center for the Study
32 of World Religions at Harvard. 32 of World Religions at Harvard.
33 33
34 Applied to Graduate School at MIT in EECS, started taking some 34 [Applied to Graduate School at MIT in EECS, started taking some
35 courses, but eventually MIT admin said be couldn't be admitted w/o a 35 courses, but eventually MIT admin said be couldn't be admitted w/o a
36 UG degree. 36 UG degree.]
37
38 Interested in being a social inquiry major, in order to study the
39 politics of high technology, how we get to transferring to EECS from
40 that goal is not clear.
41
42 It was very quickly clear that the understanding of computing that the
43 social scientists were critiquing was not [Programming in machine
44 language] the computing that I know. So I need to get clear on what
45 computing really is, so that I can legitimately critique it. So I
46 thought I had to go into the heart of the beast, as it were.
47
48 Terry Winograd provided the friendship and both social and 'official'
49 support-structure to allow Brian to start to express himself out loud,
50 as it were.
51
52 Saying to Fodor, ref. Tom Swift and his procedural grandmother, that
53 "this is not how compilation worked", Fodor was blustery but
54 open-minded enough to say "this is your subject area, I'm sure you're
55 rightl tell me how it does work". He and Fodor were friends, but
56 later Fodor "curdled".
57
58 Dog hanging on to a scented cloth -- sitting at the console of a 360
59 and keying in instructinos and debugging by staring at the pattern of
60 lights that the console frooze in.
61
62 Articulating an understanding of computing that would do justice to his
63 intuitive understanding of computing as he had experienced it is the
64 theme of all his intellectual work.
37 65
38 "Course on compilers, I had written a compiler, I'd written a tiny OS 66 "Course on compilers, I had written a compiler, I'd written a tiny OS
39 for a PDP-9 running a physics experiment". Pat Winston sat me down 67 for a PDP-9 running a physics experiment". Pat Winston sat me down
40 and took me through the requirements for a CSEE degree, and decided 68 and took me through the requirements for a CSEE degree, and decided
41 he'd satisfied them all. But he needed a Batchelor's thesis, so they 69 he'd satisfied them all. But he needed a Batchelor's thesis, so they
42 took a paper from a course he'd taken in the autumn, called "Comments 70 took a paper from a course he'd taken in the autumn, called "Comments
43 on Comments", and added some stuff, it got marked and accepted as his 71 on Comments", and added some stuff, it got marked and accepted as his
44 thesis, so awarded the degree and could actually be enrolled as a 72 thesis, so awarded the degree and could actually be enrolled as a
45 student under the supervision of Peter Szolovits. The Media Lab was 73 student under the supervision of Peter Szolovits.
46 located in MIT's Building 20, just underneath the Artificial
47 Intelligence Lab, then under the direction of ??.
48 74
75 [CSLI not particularly relevant]
76
77 [CPSR?]
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