Alan kay’s talk at “Creative Think” seminar 7/20/82

Apple 의 Macintosh 개발팀의 이야기를 다룬 책, '미래를 만든 geeks' 에 나온, Alan kay 의 세미나 필기 내용. 1982 년에 발표됐다고는 믿기 어려울 정도로 멋진 이야기가 많습니다.

미래를 예측하는 가장 좋은 방법은 미래를 만드는 것 이라거나, Best 는 Better 의 적이라는 이야기는 지금 봐도 가슴에 와닿네요.

Alan kay’s talk at “Creative Think” seminar 7/20/82

Outline of Talk : the real software issues

• Metaphors
• Magnetic Fields
• Snobbery
• Slogans

The best way to predict the future is to invent it

Humans like fantasy + sharing

• Fantasy fulfils need for a simpler, more controllable world
• Sharing - we’re all communication junkies - we have an incredible disparity of bandwidth(easy to take in, hard to give out)

Metaphors :

• Computer as medium(clay, paint)
• Computer as vehicle
• Computer as musical instrument

Magnetic Fields - find a central metaphor so good that everything

• aligns to it, Design meetings not necessary. Should be crisp and fun.

SmallTalk is object-oriented but should have been message-oriented

Snoberry - turn up nose at good ideas

• must work on great ideas, not good ones

Appreciate mundanity - a pencil is high technology

One goal : disappear the computer into the environment.

The computer shouldn’t act like it knows everything
The whild notion of “programming languages” is wrong.

Slogans :

• best is the enemy of better
• relative judgements have no place in art
• Systems programmers are high priests of a low cult
• good ideas darft often scale

It’s all software - It just depends on when you crystallize it

People really senous about software should build their own
hardware

Final advice : Content over form, go for fun