Grady Booch
@booch.com
scientist, storyteller, philosopher
computingthehumanexperience.com
computingthehumanexperience.com
Pinned
Grady Booch
@booch.com
· Nov 18
The story of computing is the story of humanity: this is a story of ambition, invention, creativity, vision, avarice, power, and serendipity, powered by a refusal to accept the limits of our bodies and our minds.
Any sufficiently advanced AI hype is indistinguishable from grift.
— me
— me
November 13, 2025 at 10:20 PM
Any sufficiently advanced AI hype is indistinguishable from grift.
— me
— me
The story of computing is shaped by the concepts of computational thinking, was forged in the fires of conflict and commerce, and even now is the loom that weaves and is itself woven by the tapestry of our human experience.
November 11, 2025 at 2:53 AM
The story of computing is shaped by the concepts of computational thinking, was forged in the fires of conflict and commerce, and even now is the loom that weaves and is itself woven by the tapestry of our human experience.
In the research for Computing, my multi-part documentary that examines the intersection of computing and what it means to be human, I've collected almost 6,000 books to help inform my storytelling. You can browse my entire collection here
t.co/fw6RXUYR2l
t.co/fw6RXUYR2l
https://www.librarycat.org/lib/gbooch
t.co
October 31, 2025 at 11:23 PM
In the research for Computing, my multi-part documentary that examines the intersection of computing and what it means to be human, I've collected almost 6,000 books to help inform my storytelling. You can browse my entire collection here
t.co/fw6RXUYR2l
t.co/fw6RXUYR2l
There is a vast difference in the architecture of a software-intensive system whose output must always be accurate and precise versus one whose output can just be good enough.
September 23, 2025 at 7:52 PM
There is a vast difference in the architecture of a software-intensive system whose output must always be accurate and precise versus one whose output can just be good enough.
A few years ago, I did a thing with Anthony Daniels.
What I said then I still stand by today.
What I said then I still stand by today.
July 17, 2025 at 11:20 PM
A few years ago, I did a thing with Anthony Daniels.
What I said then I still stand by today.
What I said then I still stand by today.
Sentience is an exquisite consequence of the laws of physics, and the embodied mind of organisms shaped by millions of years of evolution is the remarkable product of a billions upon billions of failed experiments and dead ends and strange loops.
June 10, 2025 at 8:29 AM
Sentience is an exquisite consequence of the laws of physics, and the embodied mind of organisms shaped by millions of years of evolution is the remarkable product of a billions upon billions of failed experiments and dead ends and strange loops.
Sentience is an exquisite yet rare consequence of the laws of physics.
March 14, 2025 at 7:06 AM
Sentience is an exquisite yet rare consequence of the laws of physics.
Evolution has shaped minds for the physical world and all of its complexity, ambiguity, contradiction, noise, and indifference to our presence. We are embodied creatures, in and of the world, and our continuing presence is a testament to the evolutionary value of sentience.
March 13, 2025 at 9:59 PM
Evolution has shaped minds for the physical world and all of its complexity, ambiguity, contradiction, noise, and indifference to our presence. We are embodied creatures, in and of the world, and our continuing presence is a testament to the evolutionary value of sentience.
Art is the tangible expression of the subjective experience of the artist, serving to connect with its observers in a manner that engenders an emotional, intellectual, or experiential response.
March 13, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Art is the tangible expression of the subjective experience of the artist, serving to connect with its observers in a manner that engenders an emotional, intellectual, or experiential response.
Science is the pursuit of understanding through observation, experimentation, and theory-building while faith is an encounter with the ineffable; both seek to explain the cosmos, although in radically different ways.
March 12, 2025 at 10:23 PM
Science is the pursuit of understanding through observation, experimentation, and theory-building while faith is an encounter with the ineffable; both seek to explain the cosmos, although in radically different ways.
Science is a way for us to understand the cosmos, from the vastness of space and time to the strange behavior of subatomic particles, across the forces that give rise to the exquisite dance between order and chaos, and even...
March 12, 2025 at 8:36 PM
Science is a way for us to understand the cosmos, from the vastness of space and time to the strange behavior of subatomic particles, across the forces that give rise to the exquisite dance between order and chaos, and even...
A nation is a special kind of community, one defined by physical boundaries, a common history, a shared identity, and an evolving culture.
March 12, 2025 at 8:14 AM
A nation is a special kind of community, one defined by physical boundaries, a common history, a shared identity, and an evolving culture.
Individuals seek to see and be seen, hear and be heard, know and be known, love and to be loved. To that end, we bind ourselves to communities established by birth, proximity, interests, and values, so as to meet our innate needs for safety, companionship, intimacy, meaning, and identity.
March 12, 2025 at 1:36 AM
Individuals seek to see and be seen, hear and be heard, know and be known, love and to be loved. To that end, we bind ourselves to communities established by birth, proximity, interests, and values, so as to meet our innate needs for safety, companionship, intimacy, meaning, and identity.
Mythology is filled with stories of machines that served as companions, as helpmates, as servants, as gods. Now, we build them from sand and animate them with lightning.
March 11, 2025 at 12:12 AM
Mythology is filled with stories of machines that served as companions, as helpmates, as servants, as gods. Now, we build them from sand and animate them with lightning.
When an individual, a community, or a nation offers a service or product that another needs or wants and cannot or does not want to make themselves, trade emerges, and in so doing contributes to the formation of complex economic, social, and political connections that in turn shapes cultures.
March 11, 2025 at 12:12 AM
When an individual, a community, or a nation offers a service or product that another needs or wants and cannot or does not want to make themselves, trade emerges, and in so doing contributes to the formation of complex economic, social, and political connections that in turn shapes cultures.
Computing and warfare have evolved in concert, each profoundly influencing the other. During World War II, computing was a companion to war.
March 11, 2025 at 12:11 AM
Computing and warfare have evolved in concert, each profoundly influencing the other. During World War II, computing was a companion to war.
There was a time when computers were human. Over the years we built computers we could walk inside; now we carry them with us or even inside us.
March 11, 2025 at 12:10 AM
There was a time when computers were human. Over the years we built computers we could walk inside; now we carry them with us or even inside us.