Skip to content

Tag Archives: nature

Power and rebellion in Marunouchi

In the chilly yet sunny winter afternoon, I took a walk past the imperial palace in the centre of Tokyo. I find sunny winter days refreshing. The palace is interesting to behold. It is fronted by lots of that most precious of Tokyo commodities, open space. Supposedly, during the height of the land bubble, the […]

Posted 14 December 2009 † johan § Philosophy ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged: ,

A couple of quick ideas

I’m currently in Sweden, enjoying the Scandinavian nature, catching up with family and a few old friends. This time, some quick notes on a few ideas that have been brewing. Orthopraxy is when people do things the same way: “correct” action/praxis. On Artima developer spotlight, there was a lively discussion on this in the Ruby […]

Posted 24 August 2009 † johan § Computer science § Philosophy ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

Quantity as a success metric

I have something of an engineering background, so I easily end up thinking of success in terms of quantity. Maximizing this variable or that. Ensuring the greatest possible reward, or the smallest possible cost. But sometimes this is fallacious thinking. As an academic, I would like to publish prestigious articles. It would be nice to […]

Posted 24 July 2009 † johan § Philosophy ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged: , ,

Languages and automata, part 1

Computing is very new as a science. Blaise Pascal devised a mechanical calculator in 1645, but Charles Babbage’s analytical engine, widely considered the first programmable computer, was not conceived of until the mid-19th century. However, it was never constructed (unlike Babbage’s simpler “difference engine”), and even at this time there was almost no theory to […]

Posted 06 July 2009 † johan § Computer science § Philosophy ‡ Comments (2) ° Also tagged: , , ,