make this a medium article. Le 14 mars 2015 16:35, "Sean DeNigris" <[email protected]> a écrit :
> Writing the following message, which I wrote as an introduction to > Fossasia’s prospective Smalltalk GSoC students, vividly reminded me of why > I love Smalltalk. So naturally, I want to share it with our community… > > - Sean > > > Congratulations on finding Smalltalk. I doubt you have any idea how > important this could be for you. > > > > You may not realize it, but you have opened a portal to some of the > greatest minds in the history of our industry. In the beginning, for many > of our heroes - Doug Engelbart, Alan Kay, Seymour Papert - computing was > about the possibility of evolving the general level of human thought for > the benefit of mankind. Effective critical thinking is vital to modern life > e.g. the proper functioning of democratic governments. Yet traditional > media have been ineffective at improving our thought on a large scale. > Today, we’re mostly glorified "caveman with briefcases", reacting to the > same human universals as our distant ancestors - Fantasies, Stories, > Superstition, Religion/Magic, Vendetta. > > > > So what does this have to do with computing?! > > > > I’m glad you asked :) In 1972, Alan Kay envisioned a "dynamic medium for > creative thought" which he called a Dynabook [2]. It was an answer to the > problem described above - a computer to support and guide minds to the > level required to overcome our uglier instincts, and replace them with our > highest ideas, like Equal Rights, Democracy, Slow Deep Thinking, Legal > System over Vendetta, Theory of Harmony - ideas which do not take seed on > their own, but must be actively nurtured. > > > > So what does this have to do with programming?! > > > > I’m glad you asked that, too :) Smalltalk is interim[3] Dynabook > software! You have in your hands, not a programming language, but a live, > dynamic, turtles-all-the-way-down environment designed to provide "support > for the creative spirit in everyone". > > > > More practically, Smalltalk is a programming tool that allows > productivity unimaginable in most systems. And, if you put in enough time > and effort to actually think in it, it will help you program better in any > language you use. But, I think it would be a great waste if you left > Smalltalk "a better programmer", when the questions before you are: > > - What really matters? > > - How can computers fulfill on that? > > - How can I, as a programmer, contribute to that? > > > > Ideas for research: > > - Dynabook. Any of the original documents can be found easily online, > but particularly: > > - Afterword: What is a Dynabook > > - Personal Dynamic Media > > - Smalltalk: Design Principles Behind Smalltalk > > - Ivan Sutherland’s Sketchpad > > - Doug Engelbart & "The Mother of All Demos" > > - Self’s Morphic papers > > > > > > [1] Although few answers to date have been as thoughtful and daring as > LISP and Smalltalk > > [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynabook > > [3] The Dynabook is a Platonic ideal, as so any implementation is just a > step along the way in an infinite game > > >
