November 2011
0 posts
Dijkstra on patience
Already many a large organisation is nearly crushed under the sheer weight of the illogical, unmastered complexity of its automatic data processing systems. Things have to change and, therefore, will change. Perhaps we have to wait for a few more spectacular collapses until it dawns upon mankind that we had better understand what we are doing. I don’t believe in stagnation, I do believe in...
October 2011
2 posts
Dijkstra on education and dictatorships
Teaching to unsuspecting youngsters the effective use of formal methods is one of the joys of life because it is so extremely rewarding. Within a few months, they find their way in a new world with a justified degree of confidence that is radically novel for them; within a few months, their concept of intellectual culture has acquired a radically novel dimension. To my taste and style, that...