David was, well. Clearly a genius. Before I worked with him I'd been in another part of the Cavendish, doing sysadmin work for theoretical physicists including a Nobel laureate. The year I worked with David was different - more concentrated learning than I'd ever previously had.
And David was opinionated. Our review meetings would involve him asking for three different new config options based on ideas he'd had, and I'd argue him down to these making sense as a combination but not individually, but also this then being duplicative of some existing options, so if we implemented this correctly I could actually remove a preference instead of adding three more. I probably learned more from that than the coding itself.
And David could absolutely be a dick. He was very invested in his students but he was hard on them, and it was sometimes quite gendered. Probably not worse than the average Cambridge PI of the era (and definitely better than some others I knew), but that's always something that's tainted my experience.
Shortly before his death there was what was effectively a pre-memorial - a number of his past students presented their work, there was a dinner, people had an opportunity to say goodbye. I was lucky enough that the timing worked out for an existing trip to Europe, and I had the opportunity to say goodbye.
David choosing to tie up loose ends before his untimely departure was absolutely his style, and every time his name comes up I remember the fucking dreadful Sun IPX with its 256 colour display I had to use in a terrible office with the worst fluorescents I've ever seen for the first couple of months after I started. Nostalgia is weird, and I wish he was still with us.
* https://itila.blogspot.com/2016/04/davids-last-interview.htm...
* https://itila.blogspot.com/2016/04/appendix-one-horlicks.htm...
* https://thetimes.com/uk/healthcare/article/dying-scientists-...
* https://telegraph.co.uk/science/2016/04/15/cambridge-profess...
https://itila.blogspot.com/2015/08/unexpected-signs-of-malig...
Now I feel emotionally exhausted. I really hope I live long enough to see cancer eradicated.
ggm•4mo ago
Vikram Seth does the same thing with the ending of "a suitable boy" as does Anne Proulx in "the shipping news"
Writing of one's own mortality in these situations obviously invites the final word, but it actually doesn't have to be cast as such.
For this author the situation is terrible, but the writing doesn't have to echo that finality, there's a choice to be made.
A_D_E_P_T•4mo ago
BrandoElFollito•4mo ago
He is also a (one-time) porn actor :)
bryanrasmussen•4mo ago
BrandoElFollito•4mo ago
Whether it is worth mentioning is a matter of preference, it certainly adds colors to the character.
JdeBP•4mo ago
* https://lithub.com/how-did-reactionary-french-novelist-miche...
bryanrasmussen•4mo ago
I mean sounds pretty boring stuff really.
Although I didn't know he was an incel celeb.
fsckboy•4mo ago
>...there's a choice to be made
and if the auteur does not finish it, you won't know that choice
unfinished works exist, yes, there's no denying it, but that's not the same as "unfinished works are just as good as finished". let me unfinish by saying this: I have a very short proof of Fermat's last theorem I'd like to share with you! I've encoded it in the form of a novel, but brief though it be, it won't entirely fit in this textbox... I'll get started, but I'm sure you can imagine it for yourself!
T'was a dark and stormy night when young Fermat put pen to paper...
bryanrasmussen•4mo ago
https://medium.com/luminasticity/obligations-of-the-author-0...
benchly•4mo ago
To the individual, here is, in effect, never enough time. There never will be.
xpe•4mo ago
From evolution’s point of view, individuals are only a bundle for the survival of genes. It is no surprise that we want more, hence society.
For society, one could argue that its core principles (liberty, freedom, security, flourishing, pursuit of happiness, shared narratives, etc.) are only provided to each individual in a time-bounded way. Individuals may be heartened when they have confidence these principles will carry on to the next generation.
benchly•4mo ago
I like this and care deeply about what happens to our world after I am gone, but I worry (excessively, actually) that most others do not. Greed, immediate gratification, etc, these things cloud our judgement so greatly that even I have trouble remembering that the future exists with or without me in it.
It's an interesting problem to think about, but I have no idea what branch of philosophy it falls under, so pardon my sophistry. I do wonder, though; how do we get people to care about this?
xpe•4mo ago