In the world of computer science, we often acknowledge that we are standing on the shoulders of giants. However, the identities and contributions of these giants are sometimes less known than we might expect. While many Lisp practitioners recognize John McCarthy as the inventor of Lisp, the story of the foundational ideas that enabled its discovery remains largely untold. This talk aims to explore two essential questions: Why do we know so little about the foundational ideas that enable our practice, and what are those ideas and their connections?

Speakers

Daniel Szmulewicz

Functional programmer. Closet philosopher. Emacs meshugge.