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Innovation on the Edge?

Posted by Cliff on from the an-edge-so-sharp-it-bleeds dept.

MCassatt asks: "It's a truism in many fields that breakthroughs come from the edge: the scandalous Impressionists become pretty pictures for posters and umbrellas; the world of science fiction becomes the world of science. The wonderful, the fantastic, and the mad of today are tomorrow's mainstream. Are there examples of this in computer science? Not extreme programming, but extreme programs?"

3 of 226 comments (clear)

  1. Extreme programs by SeanTobin · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Gnutella
    Bit Torrent
    Freenet
    Reiserfs
    Linux Kernel
    Open SSH
    Encrypted Filesystems
    GnuPG

    At least in my opinion p2p and crypto are the edges in coding right now. Both can be hugely successful if you succeed in writing them properly. They can also be a huge failure if done improperly. Personally, I'm amazed that there aren't more p2p worms/remote exploits out there. Every now and then there are a few breaks in crypto from a weird angle, but in general they have been very successful as well.

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    1. Re:Extreme programs by Dthoma · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Just because software is popular doesn't make it noninnovative. Heck, sometimes software becomes popular because it is innovative. And often unpopular software is innovative too. Look at ReiserFS or the Hurd; surely these innovate to some degree, and even if they themselves are not that original they may well be the first to actually implement a radical idea or two. Look at Plan 9; even taking an existing stable paradigm to its illogical limit can produce wonderful results. Linux or GNU may not be that "innovative and edgy" but at the time when they were created they must've been a big blast of fresh air.

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  2. That's what theoretical CS is all about by sanpitch · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Much of theoretical computer science is all about some crazy professor looking at a problem that he thinks is cool, without worrying about its utility. Then in a few years, somebody finds a practical application.