[lbo-talk] Another computer great passes: John McCarthy RIP

[// ravi]

On Oct 29, 2011, at 6:31 PM, brandelune at gmail.com wrote:
> On Oct 30, 2011, at 1:31 AM, Jim Farmelant wrote:
> 
>> Don't you just love these passionate debates over computer languages?
>> Such a refreshing change from debates over theology or metaphysics.
>> Then again, maybe not.
> 
> Ultimately it comes down to the ability to manipulate symbols and to the best approach to have young (and not so young) people manipulate such symbols with ease. So I guess it is relevant in some way. Do we want people to learn ways to get things done or do we want them to learn to think ?
> 

Not sure what you mean by the last sentence. Surely you are not suggesting that young people (or old people) who learn C/Perl/PHP are not learning how to think and therefore cannot do so? In case you are indeed making this point: this is why I had drawn a parallel between the Panel vs Zuccotti Park thread. Not to go all Heidegger, but this is the very question being begged - what is thinking and how does one do it?

More later,

	—ravi