Synthesized answer
The guiding principles adopted for selecting the book's content were that it should be "preferably not published elsewhere, as varied and as representative as possible" [1].
These principles reflect the original spirit of the EWD series as "scientific correspondence" [2], by aiming for variety and representativeness. The EWD series itself is described as a form of scientific correspondence that became possible with the advent of the copier [2]. The decision to publish a selection from this series in book form implies an effort to consolidate and present this correspondence in a cohesive manner, thereby creating a published work that captures the essence of this scientific exchange.
Synthesized from the book passages below. Chat with the book on Feynman for follow-up.
From the book
s of the distribution tree. ) The decision to publish a se1ection from the EWD series in book form was at first highly embarrassing, but as the months went by I got used to the idea. As soon as some guiding principles had been adopted -preferably not published elsewhere, as varied and as representative as possible, etc. Categories: Computers Pages: 381 Snippet: The public part of that output found its place in what became known as "the EWD series", which can be viewed as a form of scientific correspondence, possible since the advent of the copier. (That same copier makes it hard…
Title: Selected Writings on Computing: A personal Perspective by Edsger W. Dijkstra Description: Since the summer of 1973, when I became a Burroughs Research Fellow, my life has been very different from what it had been before. The daily routine changed: instead of going to the University each day, where I used to spend most of my time in the company of others, I now went there only one day a week and was most of the time -that is, when not travelling!- alone in my study. In my solitude, mail and the written word in general became more and more important. The circumstance that my employer…
More questions about this book
- How did Dijkstra's shift to a solitary work environment as a Burroughs Research Fellow fundamentally alter his method of communication and contribution to the computing field?
- Explain how the advent of the copier was not just a convenience, but a transformative technology for scientific correspondence like the EWD series. What does this suggest about the limitations of scientific communication before copiers?
- Why might Dijkstra initially feel "highly embarrassing" about publishing a selection of his scientific correspondence, and what does this reveal about the perceived distinction between formal publication and informal scientific sharing at the time?
- Describe the unique distribution model of the EWD series. What were its advantages and disadvantages compared to traditional publishing, and what modern-day equivalents exist for this kind of decentralized knowledge sharing?