MIT Professor Michael Hawley

cyranoVR writes "Today's CBS This Morning ran an interesting profile on MIT Professor Michael Hawley. Aside from recently publishing a super-jumbo-sized book about the Kingdom of Bhutan, he has invented (among other things) an interactive kitchen counter, designed a heart monitor embedded in jewelry, contributed to the MIT Toys of Tomorrow project and has written several classical compositions for piano. What really struck me was Hawley's observation that 'today's computers aren't musical enough.' For him, there is 'no difference between an ivory keyboard and a QWERTY keyboard.' I think it's a good thing that the mainstream media is starting to show how 'computer nerds' (as the correspondent identified Hawley) can be rich individuals with much more to their lives than hardware upgrades, programming languages and pocket protectors."

Comments

Re:Coding as an artform

[JGski]

I agree. There's definitely a pattern to a compilers error streams. As you start removing bugs it changes from chaotic to ordered.

I think this is related to the feedback/feedforward nature of most parsers as they encounter syntax errors, try to re-align, fail to do so (in relation to the bugginess of the code), and then cascade into a flurry on actually nonexistent "errors". As you correct the errors, parser realignment begins to happen correctly more often and more regularity appears.

In a sense there is a potentially "musical" element to that as it generates a holistic pattern space like music. The proper mapping is more likely something similar to a "fractal dimension" or something linearly linked to pitch, or to a generative music parameter: ultra buggy code generates something like John Cage progressing to improvised jazz to pop to something highly organized like martial or baroque music. Of course then you have to know music well enough to "hear" what your compiler is telling you. :-)

Re:Outlook versus "Inside"

[Anonymous Coward]

Why should *ANY* girl care about some guy who gets his ideas about girls from his computer, and is completely close-minded to recognize that some girls are different from how they act superficially? Why should any girl care about some guy which judges on some initial reaction and doesn't bother revisioning when he talks more to the girl?
Oh wait, you've probably never even been within 60 feet of a woman.

Barf

[geordieboy]

I was a grad student at MIT, doing a PhD in physics.
Every real scientist hated those media lab dicks, whose aim in life mainly seems to be hyping up their latest lame buzzword infested cranky inventions, and sucking up lots of cash that could be much better spent on some real stuff. What a wanker, I say.