with Object-oriented Python” (http://
bit.ly/2dKNqji) by Craig S. Miller and
Amber Settle. Anyone who writes
object-oriented programs in Python
knows methods in Python classes must
explicitly state a parameter self. Miller
and Settle call that “transparency.” References to the receiving object are available in Java (for example) methods, too,
but not as an explicit parameter. Is that
a problem? Settle presented evidence
that it really is. In a study of object-oriented programming in Python (where
students were asked to code a particular
method for a given class), some errors
(like returning too early from a method,
or forgetting to loop through all items
in a list) occurred relatively frequently—19% and 31% of all errors, respectively. The self-related errors were far
more common; 53% of all errors were
due to missing the self parameter in
the method declaration, 39% were due
to missing self in an object reference,
and 39% used self incorrectly. That’s a
cost of using Python for novice students
not previously measured.
There were lots of other great papers
I’m not going to discuss here. I recommend Andy Ko’s excellent ICER 2016
trip report ( http://bit.ly/2dSp Whd) for
another take on the conference.
Daniel A. Reed
“Star Trek”@50:
Inspiring Discovery
and Innovation
http://bit.ly/2cFzx9X
September 8, 2016
On September 8, 1966, 50 years ago,
“Star Trek” ( http://bit.ly/2dKQRY5) premiered in the U.S. on the NBC television
network. By the standards of the day,
it was not a great success. The ratings
were mediocre, the reviews were mixed,
and it was canceled after three seasons
despite a fan-driven letter-writing campaign. Defying this inauspicious beginning, “Star Trek” has become an international cultural phenomenon, with
multiple series, movies, and casts since
its television premiere.
Much has been written about why
“Star Trek” has lived long and prospered. I suspect much of its enduring
appeal lies in the personal relations of
the three original starring characters
(Kirk, Spock, and McCoy), along with
technological optimism and the ethical
questions and conundrums posed.
“Star Trek” has also entered the cultural lexicon in deep ways, “Beam me
up, Scotty!” and “Set phasers to stun”
being just two of many examples. The
town of Riverside, IA, even has a commemorative monument to the “future
birthplace” of James T. Kirk. More
importantly, “Star Trek” has inspired
generations to pursue science and
technology careers, not a few of whom
have transformed part of that television
science fiction into technological and
commercial fact.
Through a B&W Broadcast, Darkly
Alas, I missed the premiere and the
original run of “Star Trek” broadcasts
because my family did not own a television. Today that seems incredible, given
television’s nearly universal market penetration, the plethora of cable channels,
and ubiquitous streaming media services. At the time, there were only three
broadcast television networks in the
U.S., and cable service was not available
in many rural areas. In the 1960s, channel surfing often involved climbing on
the roof to rotate the antenna while responding to guidance through an open
window. Instead, it was best to pick one
of the broadcast networks and stick with
it, particularly in winter.
When “Star Trek” entered syndica-tion a few years later, I was able to watch
it in B&W; when I saw it later in color, I
was amazed by the bright, garish colors.
Whether in gray scale or color, the series
immediately engaged both my teenage
angst and my scientific aspirations. Mr.
Spock’s stoicism and logic comforted
many who felt the pain and loneliness
of cultural isolation, including this
geek. The series also gave hope that a
better world was possible, one where
we could celebrate our differences as
strengths while embracing the common core of our shared humanity. During the height of the Vietnam War and
our ongoing struggle for civil rights, this
was a powerful message of hope.
From Fiction to Reality and Back
Though one might also rightly ar-
gue convergent evolution (http://bit.
ly/2dfrqgM), cellphones (communica-
tors) and tablet computers both owe
some elements of their form and func-
tion to “Star Trek”’s vision of ubiquitous
computing and communications. The
Tricorder X Prize competition to create
a portable, wireless health monitoring
device, is a direct homage to “Star Trek.”
My former colleagues at Microsoft
Research often reference the “Star Trek”
universal translator as an inspiration
for their work on real-time language
translation. (Thank you, Rick Rashid.)
More generally, our community’s work
on deep learning and intelligent assis-
tants is inspired not only by technical
goals, but by a motivating vision of arti-
ficial intelligence (AI) that runs deeply
through “Star Trek” and the science fic-
tion world. From weak AI to ambitions
of strong AI, we yearn to build a machine
that will be proud of us.
Across computing, we ponder issues
of AI ethics and their instantiation in autonomous vehicles; consider the limits
of silicon-based computing and quantum alternatives, and debate the future
of ubiquitous sensors and digital privacy. These and other technical challenges
inform our imaginations and dreams of
the future. This virtuous cycle of invention and imagination drives us forward.
The Frontier Awaits
The original “Star Trek” series opened
with Captain Kirk intoning the Enterprise would “boldly go where no man
has gone before.” It was a powerful message of exploratory optimism, though I
have to admit the split infinitive has always bothered me. But the gender-spe-cific pronoun was the wrong message,
one Captain Picard rightly corrected:
Space, the final frontier. These are the
voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its
continuing mission: to explore strange
new worlds, to seek out new life and new
civilizations, to boldly go where no one
has gone before.
Both versions echo the enduring
words of Vannevar Bush in his seminal
essay “Science: The Endless Frontier”
( http://bit.ly/2e2RMqi), and speak to
something deep in our nature:
… without scientific progress no amount
of achievement in other directions can
insure our health, prosperity, and security
as a nation in the modern world.
We yearn to discover. Engage. Make
it so.
Mark Guzdial is a professor in the School of Interactive
Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Daniel Reed is vice president for Research and Economic
Development and University Computational Science and
Bioinformatics Chair at the University of Iowa.
© 2016 ACM 0001-0782/16/12 $15.00