Computation as Interaction (or, Go Learn Erlang)
I just finished a fascinating paper " Challenging the Computational Metaphor " by Lynn Andrea Stein . The main focus is in trying to get us to move from a world of Computation as Calculation , to one of Computation as Interaction . Quick definition time - Computation as Calculation : Breaking a problem into a sequence of steps that need to be be logical, and sequentially calculated on a set of inputs, to get to a result. Computation as Interaction : Representing an environment as a sequence of interacting entities, with the emergent property of the interaction as the result Stein postulates that the Calculation approach is embedded into the very fabric of every thing we do, and everything we teach. It has served us extremely well up till recently, with the enforced abstraction being vital to our ability to construct functioning systems. It has also bled into the rest of the world, with a continued focus on everybody's part to systematize an...