computer science

Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About

Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About rather than just read about it. In short: Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About (2001) is a book by Donald E. Knuth, published by CSLI Publications of Stanford, California.

Key takeaways

Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About (2001) is a book by Donald E. Knuth, published by CSLI Publications of Stanford, California. The book contains the annotated transcripts of six public lectures given by Donald E. Knuth at MIT on the subject of relations between religion and science (particularly computer science). Knuth gives credence to the concept of divinity.

Contents Anne Foerst wrote a foreword for the book. The six chapters are lightly edited transcriptions of Knuth's lectures:

Lecture 1: Introduction Lecture 2: Randomization and Religion Lecture 3: Language Translation Lecture 4: Aesthetics Lecture 5: Glimpses of God Lecture 6: God and Computer Science Knuth added a final section entitled "Panel: Creativity, Spirituality, and Computer Science".

Excerpts from reviews

One mark of a good author is the ability to make a successful book out of an unpromising subject. Over the years, Donald E. Knuth has produced a slew of bestsellers on topics that might seem to have only limited appeal, most notably the arts of computer programming and mathematical typography. His latest book takes on a subject so challenging it has to hide behind a coy title: Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About (CSLI Publications, $35). What is this subject that dare not speak its name? Not sex, but religion. The book is based on a series of lectures on "interactions between faith and computer science". The main topic is Knuth's approach to Bible study through random sampling (which led to an earlier book as well, titled 3:16); there is also musing on the programmer's role as god of a created universe. It's a very unpromising subject, but Knuth is a very good author.

If you are a fan of 3:16 and want to know more about the statistical techniques Knuth employed, his aesthetic considerations, how he translated the 59 verses without knowing Hebrew or Greek, or what he learned in the process of this project—or if you simply want merely to spend time with a remarkable, playful intellect—you'll enjoy this book. If you want to know how computer science might help theological reflection, lecture six can launch you on your way to further, challenging study.

Despite many enjoyable passages, the book ultimately disappoints. While I can imagine that the lectures might have been wonderful to listen to, their verbatim transcription to the printed page does not always work well. A large fraction of the lectures centered around Knuth's study of selected verses from the Bible, but the written version comes across as repetitious, with many uninteresting details. Knuth's analysis of the verses is not deep and not particularly informed by a scientific sensibility. And too many of the questions in the question-and-answer sessions were superficial and could have been edited.

Further reading The homepage of the book provides errata and further information. An excerpt from the book is available at the publisher's website.

Notes ISBN 1-57586-327-8 (hardcover), ISBN 1-57586-326-X (paperback)

External links Schedule of original lectures Audio recordings of the lectures Book website Video of Donald Knuth's talk at Google, March 16, 2009 - On interactions between faith and science

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About

In research: Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2001 English-language non-fiction books, 2001 non-fiction books, American non-fiction books, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About in simple terms?

Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About (2001) is a book by Donald E. Knuth, published by CSLI Publications of Stanford, California.

Why does Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About.