I think this is him:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Thurston
Thanks
Robert C
[email protected] wrote:
Who the Hell is Dr. Thurston? And how does he support his astonishing
statement that mathematical proofs are "easier" than programming? I
can respond only with my own experience. I was a mathematics scholar
at the University of Cambridge (like Newton, but a little later). My
supervisor and research director was a friend and colleague of Alan
Turing. I always disappointed him in not fully understanding many of
the established theorems of Analysis although, as with a computer
today, I was able to use them very productively. I have vivid
memories of studying in a medieval freezy student room in the wee post
midnight hours, looking at two lines of Dedekind, and saying,
"How in Hardy's name does that line follow that one?" Mathematics is
a difficult subject, and, like playing the violin or composing
sonnets, not everyone has the mind to do it. Programming is a beast
of a different color. I have written and programmed a number of
codes. Real ones; some used by NASA, others to design airfoils
actually flown on record breaking aircraft, one, on wind turbine
siting, sold here and in Europe at $25,000 a crack. They were
tiresome to write, boring, detailed and demanding diligent programmers
with more patience than I. But they involved no intellectual
challenge beyond my limited apprehension. The above are
just personal, factual statements. They PROVE nothing. But they do
suggest from personal experience that Thurston's statement is BS. I
mean, Theory crumbles before the Facts.
Peter Lissaman, Da Vinci Ventures
Expertise is not knowing everything, but knowing what to look for.
1454 Miracerros Loop South, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505,USA
tel:(505)983-7728
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FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
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============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
