I remember first hearing of Mandelbrot from Dr Brooks and also some insights about the IBM/360 development. Dr Iverson was amused to find that I learned APL from the IBM/360 manual by Iverson and Falkoff—it was all that was available at my university in the early ‘70s about APL.
Fred Brooks said in the epilogue of “The Mythical Man Month: ”...there are only a few people who have the privilege to provide for their families doing what they would gladly be pursuing free, for passion.” Although I needed to provide for my family I was indeed lucky to do that while pursuing my passion as well as having the privilege to meet people such as Dr Brooks. I hope many generations remember and appreciate how much Dr Brooks contributed to the foundation of computing. > On Nov 18, 2022, at 7:23 PM, 'Kenneth Lettow' via Chat <[email protected]> > wrote: > > Yes it is. > > After the interview he signed my copy of "the Mythical Man-Month", "the > Design of design" and his > chapter in I. Bernard Cohen's book "Makin' Numbers" which discussed Aiken's > comp lab at Harvard. > > > On Fri, Nov 18, 2022 at 6:21 PM Devon McCormick <[email protected]> wrote: > >> His "Mythical Man-Month" remains a classic. >> >> On Fri, Nov 18, 2022 at 4:30 PM 'Kenneth Lettow' via Chat < >> [email protected]> wrote: >> >>> >>> >> https://cs.unc.edu/news-article/remembering-department-founder-dr-frederick-p-brooks-jr/ >>> >>> I was lucky enough to have spent a few hours with Dr. Brooks while >> helping >>> with an interview Catherine Lathwell did with him discussing KEI and APL >> in >>> 2012. >>> >>> Dr. Brooks was incredibly engaging and had a great laugh and sense of >>> humor. >>> >>> During a break in the interview, I asked Dr. Brooks about the famous >>> Dijkstra APL "coding bums" comment, and why it seemed that Dijkstra was >> so >>> bitter towards APL. >>> >>> He quickly corrected me, "he wasn't bitter", so I offered up "overly >>> critical" and before the word critical left my lips he proclaimed >>> "HYPUUH-CRITICAL!" in his amazing southern drawl. >>> >>> I was instantly laughing at his response. He went on to say that he >> wasn't >>> really sure of why Dijkstra had such a seemingly dim view of APL, outside >>> of maybe "it wasn't invented here" syndrome. It was a meeting I will >> never >>> forget. >>> >>> Condolences to Dr. Brooks and his family. >>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm >>> >> >> >> -- >> >> Devon McCormick, CFA >> >> Quantitative Consultant >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- >> For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm >> > > > -- > *Kenneth Lettow* > Director Market Intelligence | Thomas, a Xometry Company > Thomasnet.com <https://www.thomasnet.com> | #TogetherForIndustry > <https://www.thomasnet.com> <https://www.thomasnet.com> > <https://www.thomasnet.com>[image: Thomas For Industry] > <https://www.thomasnet.com> > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm
