The Orthogonal Bet Daniel Temkin on Esoteric Programming Languages
Sep 24, 2025
Daniel Temkin, a writer and digital artist known for his pioneering work in esoteric programming languages, joins to explore the whimsical world of esolangs. They discuss how these unconventional languages challenge coding norms and stimulate creativity through playful constraints. Temkin highlights his unique creations, like Fatfinger—a tolerant dialect for code poetry—and shares surprising applications of esolangs, including their use in malware. The conversation dives into the intersection of art, programming, and human expression.
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Computation Hides In Unexpected Systems
- Many systems (like Minesweeper) can simulate a computer and become Turing-complete, revealing computation everywhere.
- Daniel Temkin saw this as proof that code can be embedded in nontraditional artifacts and still compute.
Constraints Generate New Code Aesthetics
- Constraining how code is written (e.g., image-based PET) produces distinct aesthetic and algorithmic styles.
- Temkin values how communities discover new visual and functional expressions within a language's rules.
Minimal Languages Amplify Technical Creativity
- Minimalist languages like BrainFuck force programmers to invent elaborate techniques for basic tasks.
- That difficulty becomes a space for technical creativity and playful virtuosity.
