Scratchpad

A thought

academia, interdisciplinarity, reading —

10 Nov 2009

Discovered today while doing research for Conzen:

When asked (by Alan Kay, no slouch himself) how in one PhD thesis he managed to invent interactive computer graphics, lay the foundation for object‐oriented programming, invent Computer Aided Design, develop the foundations of constraint programming methods, and prototype novel human computer interfaces, Ivan Sutherland replied "I didn't know it was hard."

Becoming well‐read in the key works in a field is a double edged sword: afterwards we know much about what has, is, and could be done, but we also know what is hard. The key is to then not shy away from the hard problems and big visions, not to pursue the easy answers on small problems that will matter little in a few years, not to have the confidence to go for it!

It has been my experience that a compromise road is to read not within a field but across fields; in many cases the hard problems of one field have already been solved by another field. As we drown in too much information, most shrink to reading within a narrow field; I encourage you instead to read widely, when possible, and
deeply, when necessary. This is not to say that you should not read deeply; it is a certainty that it will be necessary. It is simply to say that, without intent, you will likely never read widely.

-Robin Harrap

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