OT; Donald Knuth on beauty, efficiency, and the programmer as artist

[Messenger via Digitalmars-d-learn]

On Saturday, 28 March 2015 at 01:09:44 UTC, Laeeth Isharc wrote:
> On Friday, 27 March 2015 at 11:33:39 UTC, Kagamin wrote:
>> Hmm... science exists only as long as we don't understand 
>> something, then it disappears and only knowledge remains. 
>> Looks like he talks about engineering, but calls it science.
>
> One dismisses Knuth discussing the topic for which he is 
> rightfully exceptionally well known at one's peril.  He may be 
> wrong, but one should agonize before being sure this is the 
> case and read widely and carefully about the topic first.  
> Often in our society people resolve cognitive dissonance by 
> dismissing the awkward perspective that causes such discomfort, 
> when one would reach a fuller perspective by putting up with 
> the discomfort for a while before attempting to reach 
> intellectual closure.
>
> I don't believe he is making the confusion you suggest.

Without touching on what Kagamin said, one must also take care 
not to fall to argumentum ab auctoritate.