The Array Cast Dr. Ken Iverson
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Oct 25, 2025 Dr. Kenneth E. Iverson, Turing Award winner and creator of the APL programming language, shares insights from his remarkable journey in computing. Joined by journalist Whitney Smith, Iverson discusses the design philosophy of APL, emphasizing its focus on human communication. He reflects on his career choices, including his transition from Harvard to IBM, and the culture at IP Sharp Associates. The conversation touches on the significance of programming in fostering clarity and creativity, and it challenges notions of machine-generated poetry and thought.
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Quiet Leadership Moment
- Ian Sharp calmly told a grateful after-hours caller, "Yes, I'm the president," and then hung up instead of grandstanding.
- Iverson uses the story to show Sharp's practical humility and lack of ego in leadership.
Language Designed For People First
- Iverson designed APL as a language for human communication first, not to fit early machine limits.
- He used mathematical symbols to make expressions concise and expressive for people.
Live APL Demo With Text And Arrays
- Iverson demos APL manipulating lists, tables and characters on a printing terminal, reversing alphabets and showing palindromes.
- He emphasizes working with arrays directly to perform complex manipulations succinctly.
