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Thomas E. Kurtz has died

(computerhistory.org)
618 points 1986 | 12 comments | 14 Nov 24 22:12 UTC | HN request time: 1.019s | source | bottom
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dlachausse ◴[14 Nov 24 23:21 UTC] No.42142356[source]▶
Like most of the programmers of my generation, BASIC was the first language I learned. BASIC was so pervasive in the 80s and 90s. Nearly every computer came with a copy of some flavor of BASIC. Even my 6th grade math textbook had an appendix with educational math games in the form of BASIC source code listings.

So long and thanks for all the fish Dr. Kurtz!

replies(2): >>42142909 #>>42143049 #
1. fuzztester ◴[15 Nov 24 00:43 UTC] No.42142909[source]▶
Why "thanks.*fish"? (regex, chill ;)

I know it is a saying, have read it before, but would prefer to hear the explanation from a person rather than Google.

replies(1): >>42142930 #
2. jpc0 ◴[15 Nov 24 00:47 UTC] No.42142930[source]▶
Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy
replies(2): >>42142947 #>>42143848 #
3. mmcdermott ◴[15 Nov 24 00:51 UTC] No.42142947[source]▶
To add to this, it is revealed in Hitchhikers that dolphins are super intelligent extraterrestrials. "So long and thanks for all the fish" is the superintelligent dolphins farewell to the last of earth/hummanity.
replies(3): >>42143856 #>>42143890 #>>42145949 #
4. fuzztester ◴[15 Nov 24 03:59 UTC] No.42143848[source]▶
Heard of the book, but have not read it, 41 times so far. Next time ;)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/42_(number)

5. fuzztester ◴[15 Nov 24 04:01 UTC] No.42143856{3}[source]▶
that's rather finny :)

or fishy.

6. fuzztester ◴[15 Nov 24 04:09 UTC] No.42143890{3}[source]▶
if they are extraterrestrials, wtf are they doing on terra, or rather, in / under oceania?

/jk

also, no way they can be superintelligent, if they came here, even once. bcoz, u no, shipz propellers, orcas, etc.

replies(1): >>42144891 #
7. schoen ◴[15 Nov 24 08:18 UTC] No.42144891{4}[source]▶
I'd say Douglas Adams novels are full of superintelligent and/or superpowered entities that don't always think things through properly. There's a serious Murphy's Law flavor to his scenarios, even if you're the President of the Galaxy or the Man Who Rules the Universe or a planetary engineer or the most intelligent robot ever built or whatever. You're still going to trip and fall, or experience unrequited love, or get stranded on a boring planet, or have an embarrassing misunderstanding, or concoct a wacky scheme that goes wrong somehow.
replies(1): >>42146808 #
8. rswail ◴[15 Nov 24 11:27 UTC] No.42145949{3}[source]▶
I thought it was the mice that were the super intelligent extraterrestrials?
replies(2): >>42146587 #>>42146800 #
9. markedathome ◴[15 Nov 24 13:12 UTC] No.42146587{4}[source]▶
The mice were the mechanism by which the hyper-intelligent, pan-dimensional beings observed their experiment. The experiment being "what is the Ultimate Question?" by running a 10 million year simulation.
10. kaba0 ◴[15 Nov 24 13:37 UTC] No.42146800{4}[source]▶
I believe we were only the 3rd most intelligent on Earth, or something like that? Both dolphins and mouse being more intelligent.
11. kaba0 ◴[15 Nov 24 13:38 UTC] No.42146808{5}[source]▶
Given human events, he was not wrong in that conclusion. (If we even consider ourselves super intelligent)
replies(1): >>42146990 #
12. fuzztester ◴[15 Nov 24 13:59 UTC] No.42146990{6}[source]▶
astute - you and gp both.