Communications of the ACM

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.