0: Who are we? 1: I feel like I know you well enough by now not to answer. 0: I want you to answer. 1: I mean I know you're not looking for me to say "0 & 1." 0: Right so far. 1: We're... root and user? 0: No no. Who are _We_ ? 1: Which we? 0: We just got done writing the first principle. 1: Right, I read it. Finish Hello World. 0: So you presumably read this part: ![[who-is-we.png]] 1: Yeah. 0: You weren't confused back then. So I assume you have an answer. 1: To what? 0: To this. ![[who-is-we-circled.png]] 0: Who's we? 1: Oh. I assumed "we" was like, programmers. 0: Exactly. So? 1: What? 0: Who are we? 1: Who are programmers? 0: Yes. 1: I don't know what you're looking for. 0: Our field. Our people. Who are we? Where do we come from? What's our history? 1: Oh! Ok. Where do you want me to start? 0: At the beginning. 1: The very beginning? 0: The very beginning. 1: " If you insist. :) " 0: ... 1: Ok so I actually really like this history stuff. Not that I'm an expert. But I like learning about when things were simpler. Even though everything was a lot harder back then. I mean punch cards? I can't imagine. But before punch cards there were vacuum tubes and this big machine called ENIAC, I don't know much about that era, but during WWII the Germans had Enigma and Alan Turing made the Bombe which I guess was sort of a computer. The textbooks usually go all the way back to Charles Babbage. He had this thing called the Analytical Engine, I think he had two versions. I forget if he ever finished them. And of course everyone knows Ada Lovelace was way ahead of everyone else, but she never gets the credit, as usual, so I guess that's where the field started. 0: So that's us? 1: What do you mean? 0: Does that sound like you? 1: In what way? 0: Well, that was about machines. 1: So? 0: Are you a machine person? 1: What's a machine person? 0: I mean is that the thing you've always been drawn to? The thing you've always loved more than anything. Some people in the world are _definitely_ "machine people." It's not a bad thing. I'm just asking: is that you? 1: What kind of answer are you looking for? 0: Does that sound like you? 1: Which part? 0: The whole thing. 1: Look I'm in one of those situations again where you're acting serious and I don't know what you want me to saaaaaay. 0: Calm down. It's not a test and I'm not grading you. 1: So what's the question? 0: Who are we? 1: We as in programmers? 0: Yes. 1: Can I have like a multiple choice thing so I know what kind of answers you're looking for? 0: No. But I understand if that question feels too open ended. Forget programmers in general. Tell me about you. 1: What about me? 0: Is that your history? 1: In what way? 0: Jacard Loom. Charles Babbage. Difference engine. Analytical engine. Quevedo's Electro-mechanical calculator. Lord Kelvin's third tide predicting machine. Konrad Zuse's Z3. Colossus. ENIAC. Ferranti Mark 1. Manchester Baby. 1: Manchester Baby? 0: Manchester Baby. First computer with software. Stored its instructions in something a bit more like memory than past machines, which all stored their code in hardware or physical switches. Heard about it? 1: No. 0: Me neither. 1: Then how did you--- 0: The Manchester Mark 1. 1: What? 0: The Ferranti Mark 1. 1: Are you just gonna list all the comput--- 0: The transistor. The metal-oxide-silicon field-effect transistor. 1: Ok those aren't computers. 0: Ferranti Pegasus, Ferranti Mercury, CSIRAC, EDVAC, UNIVAC I, IBM 701, IBM 702, IBM 650, Z22. 1: Ok we're back to computers. 0: IBM 7090, IBM 7080, IBM System/360, BUNCH. 1: Um, 0? 0: HP 2116A, IBM System/32, IBM System/36, LINC. 1: Why are we doing this? 0: Does it feel like you're connecting with your history? 1: Not really. 0: PDP-7, PDP-11 what about now? 1: No? 0: Really? Ok that line should have felt different. 1: How exactly? 0: Just adding a mental note of something we need to cover later. Lots of thing we need to fix in your education. 1: Can I have a hint? 0: VAX, IBM AS/400. 1: Ok we're doing this again. 0: Motorola 6800, Motorola 6809, Motorola 68000, MOS Technology 6502, Zilog Z80, Zilog Z8000, WDC 65816/65802, Pentium, ARM, ARMv8-A, Alpha, MIPS, PA-RISC, PowerPC, SPARC. 1: These are all really boring names. 0: Intel 4004, Intel 4040, Intel 8008, Intel 8048, Intel 8051. 1: I mean seriously guys, not impressive marketing. 0: Intel 8080, Intel 8088. 1: I mean at least name them after Greek gods or something. 0: Intel 80386, x86-64. 1: I know that last one! 0: How do you feel? 1: Confused. 0: Excited? 1: No. 0: Me neither. 1: What's your point? 0: Same question you still haven't answered. 1: Which one? 0: Who are we? 1: Ah right. That one. Was listing all the computers supposed to help me figure out who I am? 0: In a way. 1: Well it didn't. 0: Why not? 1: I'm not that. 0: Not what? 1: Someone who cares about all those things. 0: Those things were Computers. Isn't that the field you chose, as a career, because you love it? 1: No. I mean yes. But no. Not like that. I mean when I think about the history of our field, I don't think about "The Fistem Incorporated Four Sixty Twelve dash Sleventy" or whatever. I don't go home and read about that stuff. And I don't care about it. Or know it. That's what I mean. I'm a programmer. 0: There are people who love that stuff. What's the difference? 1: Maybe something about software people vs hardware people? 0: Suppose someone loves all the machines I just listed because they liked the software, but they didn't know anything about the hardware. 1: Ok I guess it's not exactly a hardware vs software thing. 0: So who are we? 1: I don't know. 0: Are we mathematicians? 1: I mean I enjoyed some parts of math. Hated others. It's complicated. But I know a lot of computer science eventually goes back to math. 0: Does it? 1: I thought so. 0: How? 1: ... Ok I didn't expect to be interrogated. 0: Here, let's try this. 1: Try wh--- 0: _(ahem)_ - Abstract Algebra - Analysis - Analytic Geometry 1: Oh my god are we back to listing things again? 0: - Calculus 1: That one's fun! I mean I hated it in school but there's this one book I really l-- 0: - Clifford Algebra - Cohomology - Combinatorics - Complex analysis - Complex manifolds - Cryptography 1: I kinda feel like Cryptography's ours. 0: - Differential equations - Differential geometry - Discrete mathematics - Euclidean Geometry - Functional analysis - Galois Theory - Geometric Algebra - Geometric Flows - Geometric Langlands - Graph theory - Homology - Linear algebra 1: Linear algebra was ok but I kinda felt like I was missing something. 0: - Manifolds - Metric spaces - Non-standard analysis 1: Ooh what's that? 0: - Number theory 1: Ugh stop it zero. 0: - Probability theory - Real analysis - Riemannian manifolds - Riemannian metrics - Riemann surfaces - Topology - Topological Manifolds - Universal Algebra 1: That one sounds cool. 0: - Variational methods - Wiener measures 1: BAHAHAAHHAHAH THAT CANNOT BE A THING 0: How do you feel? 1: Well my stomach hurts from laughing, Universal Algebra and Non-standard analysis sound cool but I don't know what they are. 0: So how do you feel? 1: Still not sure what you're looking for. 0: Ever find yourself procrastinating from what you're "supposed" to be doing because you're in some book or site or paper reading about those things? 1: No. Not these days. Once or twice-- 0: If you had a fully paid scholarship for four years of study and that list was your curriculum, would you be excited to learn it? 1: I don't know. Maybe once I got there? 0: Yes or no. 1: Probably not. 0: Are we mathematicians? 1: No. At least I'm not. 0: So who are we? 1: Do you think I'm gonna suddenly have the answer? You've asked like ten tim--- 0: What would your parents say about you? 1: Is this therapy now? I thought we were su--- 0: Would they say you're a mathematical type? 1: Maybe. I think they think computing is a math thing. We don't talk about it much. 0: Would they say "Ever since 1 was little, all 1 ever loved was puzzles and numbers and geometric---" 1: No. 0: Would your parents say "Ever since 1 was little, all 1 ever loved was machines of every kind. The washing machine. The toaster. Tractors, bulldozers, every kind of machine big or small." 1: No. 0: "1 was always taking things apart and putting them back together." 1: I don't think I was like that. 0: What did you love? 1: They said I asked "why" a lot. 0: Say more. 1: About everything. Like sure all kids learn to torment their parents by asking why over and over until the adult has a nervous breakdown but I don't mean that. I mean I just asked why a lot. A hundred times a day. About everything. I always wanted to know why. 0: As opposed to? 1: How things worked. I mean I guess I was curious about that too, but after listening to that looong list of machines I realized I'm not really a "machine person." Though I've often been told I'm a mechanistic thinker. But not in the way where you want to take apart the family toaster and see what's inside. 0: So, who are we? 1: I can't speak for you, but--- 0: You can speak for me. 1: About what specific--- 0: If those aren't "our people," who are we? 1: Computer people? 0: But not COMPUTER people. 1: Computer science? 0: Which of those two words do you like better, "computer" or "science"? 1: Science. 0: Ok now, "Scientific computing" or "Computing." 1: Definitely "Computing." Scientific computing is a dumpster fire. I mean I've done it, but it's not what gets me excited. 0: So you're a noun person? 1: What? 0: In "Computer science," you prefer the science. In "Scientific computing," you prefer the computing. Those are the no--- 1: I'm not in love with nouns don't be dumb. 0: It's the best theory we've found yet. 1: Do you know the answer? 0: Yes. 1: You know who we are? 0: Yes. 1: Me too, not just you? 0: Without question. 1: Who are we? goto: [[ld]]