philosophy – Page 32 – Wisdom And Wonder

We Need More Architectural Engineers in IT

Even though I don’t think that software development is engineering; these two passages spoke to me in terms of project roles that should be distinguised on larger projects: architect and architectural engineer (they apply to structural engineering, but I am going to stretch them here) :

Architecture is a communicative art that situates human activity within a horizon of possibilities, the art and science of designing buildings. A wider definition would include within its scope the design of the total built environment, from the macrolevel of town planning, urban design, and landscape architecture to the microlevel of furniture and product design. Architecture, equally importantly, also refers to the product of such a design.

— Bambooweb

Architects are responsible for the form and appearance of a building with a focus on the way that people use and experience the spaces of the building. The Architectural Engineer is responsible for ensuring that “the building works” – that it stands up, that the HVAC system operates, that light and power are delivered as needed. Architectural Engineers use primarily the tools of engineering to achieve optimum system selection and sizing within the overall constraints usually set by the Architect.

— WikInfo
These days you are lucky to find people who can fulfill the former alone, let alone both roles.

Best Entrepreneur Books That You Never Expected

Here is a list of entrepreneurial books that you might not have expected to be good; at least according to the author. You might find some of the picks odd, but it is worth a quick skim at least.
(via Ben)

Our addiction to addition

Here is a great post about elegance.

Something is elegant if it is two things at once: unusually simple and surprisingly powerful.

— Matthew E. May
That makes me think of Scheme.
(via Guy)

Making it happen

Here is a good post about how some opera singers wanted to “start a new opera company in Baltimore, and do it in on a shoe-string budget”. It seems like a good example of “thinking outside of the box” and making something that they really love to happen: practicing their heart and making a living doing it.

Choosing a Programming Language is Really Choosing a Community

Michele wrote this great article about how for some of us, choosing a programming language is really choosing a community.

I feel this way, very much so. I guess I am not the only one.

The Agenda of SICP

SICP (as it is often referred to) has its own agenda: convincing the reader that the most important thing computers can do is interpreting computer programs.

– Guido van Rossum

(via reddit)

Is there any lesson from the research field that you don’t see applied?

Robin: Most programming languages have been desgined without first thinking about the theory on which the meaning would be based. So, very often a language gets designed and implemented, and then what it means, what is supposed to happen when every program is run, is not necessarily predicted. Of course it was in some cases wonderfuly predicted, for example, in ALGOL60; the ALGOL60 report of 1960 was so accurate that one could follow it and find out what was going to happen. This isn’t always the case. Even in the good languages, the formal basis is not there before the language arrives, so what people do is later to retrofit a theory of meaning to the language, and maybe that means that the design could not take advantage of theoretical understanding.

Passion is always a win win situation

Here is a great 5 minute lecture about the nature of pursuing passion. In hindsight, it is always a win win situation.
(via Bruce)

Tag: philosophy