Don Knuth – Constraint Based Music Composition

Music starts at 1h5m42s: https://youtu.be/e_1a6bHGQGo?t=1h5m42s

reedlaw|10 years ago

Can't see who's playing. Is it a recording or some sort of MIDI performance?

This was held at the ccrma stage! So many great talks and concerts have been held there. I have used that room to stream phish shows and watch cabin in the woods in 5.1 :D

If you are in the bay area you should definitely go check out one of the events, they are all free and open to the public.

--> https://ccrma.stanford.edu/

brudgers|10 years ago

A comprehensive autobiographical video interview with Knuth from a few years ago:

http://www.webofstories.com/play/donald.knuth/1

boomzilla|10 years ago

Does anyone notice Don's piano belt :)

xaqfox|10 years ago

I would wager a bet that it is a pipe organ belt.

unknown|10 years ago

[deleted]

jvandonsel|10 years ago

The word "eccentric" springs to mind. (I mean that in the nicest possible way)

jschwartzi|10 years ago

He reminds me of a Physics professor I had in college. She was taught by Catholic nuns, and she had a lot of the same mannerisms.

likeachamp17|10 years ago

Gotta love this Christian.

jonhohle|10 years ago

Through some odd twist of, who knows what, I attended the same high school as Donald Knuth. When I learned this, I asked my grandmother if she knew him - she (and my late grandfather) were involved with school since was formed. Not only did she know exactly who he was, but had read one of his books! (Not a CS book, of course; 3:16.) I'm glad that I get to tell people that even my granny has read Knuth.

nocman|10 years ago

Don is such an interesting and humble person -- and oh so very sharp.

I ran into this short video after watching the music one, which shows what a very hard worker he was and still is:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9514350

ten7|10 years ago

I don't understand this.

laichzeit0|10 years ago

Not meant to be insulting or disparaging but I'm curious: Does Knuth have some form of highly functional autism or related? His body language is very weird to me. Staring at the floor a lot, seems to be lost in thought, etc.?

olau|10 years ago

If you find yourself starting a sentence with an excuse, it's a good sign you are on the wrong side of polite behaviour. He's 77 years old.

bitwize|10 years ago

The man built a career out of thinking and you bring up the oddity of him getting "lost in thought"?

He might have some sort of cognitive abnormality, but at this point who cares what it is? He's Donald freaking Knuth.

anewhnaccount|10 years ago

Because he's not some CEO bounding on to the stage and projecting him self with his chest puffed out?

22 comments