Feeling of Computing

One of the biggest goals of this show — our raisin detour, if you will — is to encourage people to look at computer programming differently. It's not just a job, or a way to make the computer do what you want. Code isn't just the material you sculpt into apps and games and websites. The very act of programming itself, and the languages we make and use to do that programming, reflect who we are as people. Programming languages say something. Esolangs — esoteric programming languages — are programming languages created for these more self-reflective purposes. To some, they're defined by what they're not: not for serious use, not for education, not for efficiency. To others, they're a bunch of funny jokes that people can commiserate through after suffering the steep learning curve of becoming a programmer. A few find in them an opportunity to explore strange computational models, or baffling syntax designs. But is there more to them? Could there be? In this episode, we're discussing a preprint of the paper Let's Take Esoteric Programming Languages Seriously by Jeremy Singer and Steve Draper, and struggling with what it even means to give esoteric languages their due. Links $ Each of these episodes is a labour of love. If you appreciate that labour, slip us a five on Patreon. As is the norm, you'll get a second RSS feed with a bonus episode each and ev-er-y month. Except this month, there's actually two (2) bonus episodes, for the simple reason that this podcast swells with bubbles of hot waxy fluid that spill the container of my Ableton Live when they pop. The first pop is a half hour cut from this esolangs ep, the three of us brainstorming esolangs we'd enjoy, super casual and playful, perfect for building your parasocial podcast relationship, you'll love it. The second bonus, as I'm sure you've been expecting, is three hours of Jimmy and I relaying our experiences with Silksong, unpacking its few contentious design decisions, fawning over exquisite details, the good shit. So yeah, hand us one hundred nickles, help Ivan repair his basement, enjoy more of… whatever this is. Daniel Tempkin 🛌 😴💤😘 esoteric.codes Daniel's new book, Forty-Four Esolangs Joana Chicau The Less Humble Programmer Esolangs Wiki Entropy, an esolang by (total dreamboat) Daniel Tempkin Unnecessary, the 4:33 of esolangs, by Keymaker Turing Paint by Byron Knoll, which is similar to Brian Silverman's Wireworldand Lu's Cableworld Ivan's Visual Programming Codex, a collection of all the cool visual programming things Ivan has come across in his travels. Riskopoly — The Game of Capitalist Imperialism! Fanny#In_slang Brainfuck and Whitespace are two canonical esolangs. Our episode on Structure of a Programming Language Revolution, which includes extended discussion of Ivan's father-in-law's lookalike. Dreamberd is one of Lu's Esoteric programming languages, which has a (let's just say) "interesting" relationship with AI. The Story of Mel Piet, Befunge, and Malbolge are more classic, oft-cited esolangs. Fractran deserves special mention, since the language is comprised entirely of fractions, which is pretty neat. MarkovJunior also deserves special mention. Seriously, go look at the examples. Wild stuff. It's by Maxim Gumin, who also did the famous WaveFunctionCollapse project. We did an entire interview episode about Orca with creator Devine Lu Linvega, who more recently made Tote, a reversible rewriting sandbox. Reversible computing, something Ivan is particularly interested in. XKCD's comic X, about a programming language that uses fonts creatively. ArnoldC is one of those esolangs, like Shakespeare, Chef (which, actually, is kinda good actually if you actually have to eat whatever you code), or LOLCODE Wat; still hits. Bodyfuck Evil.css, "subtle and not-so-subtle CSS rules that will slowly drive people insane" Hest doesn't exist. Code golfing is the practice of making your code as succinct as possible, often at the expense of readability (though it leads certain people to write really good coffeescript). The International Obfuscated C Code Contest is related, in that it's about writing C code where unreadability is the goal. Jimmy would like to challenge y'all to write Fizz Buzz with no booleans, no conditionals, no pattern matching, or other things that are like disguised booleans. Arroost is a musical programming environment Lu made to NORMALIZE SHARING SCRAPPY FIDDLES. Inform is a natural programming language for interactive storytelling. PuzzleScript is a rewriting language for making tile-based puzzle games. Each of these sits at an interesting spot somewhere on the twisty boundary between the programming meaning of "expression" and the human meaning of "expression". The School for Poetic Computation occasionally runs a class called Digital Love Languages. Coming Out Simulator and other works by Nicky Case, and dys4ia by Anna Anthropy, are wonderful examples of the sort of deeply personal expression Lu and Ivan would like to see in programming tools. What music does Ivan listen to? Well… here's most of it. What music does Ivan make? Well… here's some of it. But Jimmy is fond of Diminished Fifth, an attempt to make some shrinking music with ClojureScript. It's no Merzbow. Zachtronics games, like exapunks — are they esolangs? A good number of recent videogames have included conlangs (constructed languages), such as 2023's fabulous Chants of Sennaar — but beware of spoilers, as some of these games might use the obscurity of the conlang to hide secrets in plain sight. Minecraft, natch, has a conlang for enchantments, and it's worth mentioning that redstone is an esolang of a sort. And then there's the Turing tarpit games, like Baba is You… the list goes on. Perhaps Tidal Cycles and Strudel are esolangs? Perhaps also the Game of Life? Hedy is an unabashed push to do something different! Jonathan Richman's He Gave Us The Wine To Taste It is probably my favourite of the various attempts artists have made to plead with their audiences: don't overthink this! (Friends of the show might be familiar with this one.) Isomorf let you view your program with your choice of syntax. It's like Hedy, but less humanitarian. Poe's Law is not Postel's law Music used in this episode: Two songs from Ivan's Organs. One from AG,BO. A slice of Diminished Fifth. The shortest track of this, the shortest track of that. The last song in the episode isn't on the internet, but the demo is. Jonathan Richman's He Gave Us The Wine To Taste It ! Send us email, join the FoC community, and find us on-line: Iv: 🐘 🦋 🌐 Jm: 🐘 🦋 🌐 Lu: 🐘 🦋 🌐 See you in dreamland~ https://feelingof.com/episodes/078/Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/feelingofcomputingSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The discussion kicks off with a lively debate on renaming the podcast, touching on the community's evolving identity. They hilariously reflect on quirky vintage advertisements, revealing surprising societal norms. Vannevar Bush's innovative vision of technology is examined, alongside a look at photography's evolution from dry techniques to digital. The concept of the Memex sparks thoughts on fluid information interaction, while they humorously dive into the interplay of computing and military needs during WWII, all layered with charming anecdotes about a pet beagle.

Joining the discussion is Felienne Hermans, a computer scientist renowned for her work in programming education and spreadsheet programming. They dive into Alan Turing's legacy, critiquing the outdated assumptions in his famous paper on artificial intelligence. The conversation navigates gender identity, deception in the Turing Test, and the complexities of machine intelligence versus human thought. They also challenge the simplistic definitions of intelligence, advocating for a broader understanding that goes beyond language. Hermans' insights make for a thought-provoking exploration of Turing's impact.

Felienne Hermans, a programming language researcher known for her work on Hedy, discusses the critical intersection of feminism and programming language design. She reveals the biases in academia that prioritize formal research over human-focused studies, which can stifle diverse contributions. With personal anecdotes, she emphasizes the need for inclusivity and the significance of addressing gender dynamics in the field. The conversation also highlights how outdated norms in academia affect women's participation and advocates for a more nuanced understanding of gender in tech.

Dive into an exploration of whether the universe itself acts like a computer. Delve into philosophical debates about computation and the mind, where historical insights from figures like Alan Turing enrich the discussion. Discover distinctions between deterministic and non-deterministic systems, and their implications for understanding reality. The conversation poses lofty questions about existence and our place in the cosmos, mixing humor with deep thoughts on how computation shapes our understanding of time and change.

In this engaging discussion, Alexander Repenning, an innovator in educational tools, shares insights from his 20-year journey with AgentSheets, a platform designed to foster kids' computational thinking. He delves into the evolution of block-based programming, critiques the limitations of syntax-focused education, and advocates for more accessible coding tools for diverse students. Repenning humorously addresses the naming conventions in programming and emphasizes the importance of a deeper understanding of semantics and pragmatics in coding education.

The podcast delves into the history and significance of Pygmalion, the originator of concepts like icons and programming by demonstration. It explores the original paper by David Canfield Smith, the debate between reading sequentially or jumping to conclusions, and critiques gender dynamics in visual programming. The hosts also discuss the role of language in thought, explore the existence of triangles, and examine visual representations in programming.

The podcast delves into topics like 'Inventing on Principle' by Brett Victor, Paris Fashion Week, Canadian Tuxedo, hot module replacement, and innovative programming demos. It also discusses the intersection of technology and art, exploring surrealism, direct manipulation in art and technology, and the utilization of tools and constraints for creativity.

Dave Ackley challenges conventional software engineering by advocating for a balance between correctness and efficiency. The episode explores robustness in computing, prioritizing resilient solutions over peak performance. Examples range from RAID to Byzantine fault tolerance, highlighting the importance of handling unpredictable situations in software development.

Author Mary Shaw discusses myths and mythconceptions in programming, including the dominance of ill-specified software, the confusion caused by the lack of structure in a paper, and the importance of recognizing limitations in myths. They explore the concept of vernacular software development and its tools, the contributions of vernacular programmers and the capture of their work by commercial entities, and the reality of software engineering. The speakers also touch on gender-neutral terms, the acquisition of knowledge, the varying interpretations of correctness, and the myth of the professional programmer.