Legendary computer scientist Edsger Dijkstra once said: “Computer Science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes.” But if programming is not about the computers, what IS it about?
I want to give you three strange definitions of computer programming that will forever change how you think about software. Exploring the true nature of programming requires tracing its connections with philosophy, psychology, evolution, and physics, and following these threads leads to a startling conclusion: computer programming is not a product of the mind of humans – it’s a product of the mind of the universe!
About Ron Burk
Ron Burk has been a programmer for 30 years, a magazine editor (Windows Developer’s Journal) for 10 years, and an amateur medical researcher for 5 years (publishing papers on treating the anemia of cancer, and the relationship of melatonin to chemotherapy symptoms).
He is currently writing “The Pop Psychology of Programming”, a synthesis of psychology and computer programming. You can find Ron on his blog and on Twitter @ronburk.
Every time we buy from Amazon we give their algorithms a little more information about ourselves (or at least the things we buy). But, do we have our own algorithms to help us make sense of purchase after purchase across time? What can we learn about ourselves through the things we buy?
Over the past 13 years, I have made far more purchases from Amazon than I care to count (actually, I have counted and will share). Why did I buy lots of batteries and have them shipped to my mother? Why did I buy an “Interactive Yoda with Lightsaber” and where is it now? Do web design books from 1999 still have relevance today?
Join me on a whirlwind tour of my 1-Click® habit and the things some of these books should have taught me.
Google vs. Microsoft: where will the battles be fought, how will each companies strategies and blind-spots impact the outcomes, and who will win? The speaker spent 9 years at Microsoft and 4 at Google, and so thinks he knows something about this.
I’m the sad owner of a philosophy degree. I’m convinced i can give people a better education in philosophy (and make them realize how much they already know and love philosophy) in 5 minutes than I got in 4 years.
About Scott Berkun
Scott Berkun is a friend of Ignite and we’ve referenced his last talk “How and Why to Give an Ignite Talk” when anyone asks that very question. Scott’s work as a writer and public speaker has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Wired magazine, National Public Radio and other media. His latest book, which is near and dear to us at Ignite, is “Confessions of a Public Speaker.”
You can find Scott on his blog and Twitter at @berkun.
Elizabeth Taylor and Ivanka Trump may have their own jewelry lines, but it’s geeks like you/us who are the experts in jewelry. Yes, it takes a real geek to know jewelry, cut through the salesperson’s bs, and shop like a pro. Let me show you why.
Mike and a bunch of his friends wanted to build a huge interactive Rubik’s Cube at Burning Man. They went through about 10 designs each trying to achieve the same goal of somehow raising the 15×15x15ft Grooviks Cube, weighing near 4000 lbs 10 feet in the air within a fairly tight budget.
About Michael Tyka
Dr. Michael Tyka is a senior fellow at The Baker Laboratory at the University of Washington’s Biochemistry department. He spoke at Ignite Seattle 6 about “The Invention of the Wheel.”
Our challenge: Do we remain in awe of his capacity and accomplishments or do we take on his mantle of “Doing the Best with what we have” and look at our issues and do something about them? Health care, alternate energy, grass roots organizing, empowering small groups of people to do great things, advancing learning [...]
Pinball rules. Everyone loves to play. However everyone also loves to win, and the fact is pinball is hard. Luckily, getting better at pinball … not great but respectable … is actually pretty easy. In this talk Greg Dunlap goes over the basics that will help you propel your game to the next level. About [...]
Doesn’t it seem like there’s a lot of “Gov 2.0″ stuff out there right now? What can you do, as an individual to make your voice heard in the lawmaking process and what tools do you use? This Ignite talk focuses on how to overcome the bureaucratic and technology challenges to communicating effectively with your [...]
Using your telescope in the city can be frustrating with all the stray light all over the place. You can’t do much about the skyglow, but you can shield yourself from stray light sources nearby. Rather than buying a pre-made shelter for hundreds of dollars, you can build one for about a hundred dollars. Jeremy [...]
It wasn’t until Jon Bell spent a year at Frog Design as a developer that he realized everything he learned in art school was either wrong, outdated, or only told half the story. Jon Bell condenses 10 years of design myth-busting into this action-packed talk. About Jon Bell During the day, you can find Jon [...]
Photos from the Ignite Seattle Group Pool on Flickr. If you took pictures at Ignite Seattle 8, please add them to the pool with the tag “is8” and they’ll show up here. Additionally, you can view pictures from all the previous Ignite Events on our Photos page.
Ignite Seattle 8 is tonight! As always we have a cornucopia of speakers talking about a variety of geek topics. The doors to the King Cat Theatre open at 7:00. The talks start at 8:30 PM. It makes “cents” to bring your art hat for tonight’s warm-up that starts at 7:30pm. Here’s the line up [...]
We’ve got a great line up for our next event, held once again at the King Cat Theatre on December 1st at 7pm. Here is the list of speakers for Ignite Seattle 8 (in no particular order). We look forward to seeing you there.
Ron Burk has been a programmer for 30 years, a magazine editor (Windows Developer’s Journal) for 10 years, and an amateur medical researcher for 5 years (publishing papers on treating the anemia of cancer, and the relationship of melatonin to chemotherapy symptoms). 
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