“It was opposed by almost all programmers. First it was said it could not be done. Second, if it could be done it would be too wasteful of machine time and capacity. Third, even if it did work, no respectable programmer would use it. It was only for sissies.”
This is not a passage on AI coding in the 2020’s.
It’s on the reception of Fortran in the late 1950’s and early 60’s.
From The Art of Doing Science and Engineering by Richard Hamming.
Originally posted on LinkedIn.