








       To:   Chuck Divest
       From: Mark Writeoff
       Date: April 10, 1993
       Re:   Programming is dangerous?


	   Shortly before Dean Threesome resigned he told me that in one of
       his recent consulting visits to the US Department of Mental Hygiene he
       came across an advance copy of the latest report from the office of
       the Sturgeon General, Dr. Kook.  The report cites studies that
       indicate that the activity of computer programming is dangerous to
       mental health and potentially addictive.  This makes me very nervous
       because we have hundreds of undergraduates exposed to possible danger.

       The Dean suggested that we convene an emergency committee to examine
       these issues, and our potential legal liability in these matters.  We
       might be forced to have a policy on programming, similar to the ODSA's
       policy on alcohol.  For example, we might just have to make it
       Institute Policy that only upperclassmen may take subjects involving
       substantial computer programming.

       As part of my investigation of this situation I started reading the
       crazy book, "Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs," that
       Professor Hacker uses in 6.001.  (What is really awful is that MIT
       press wouldn't even give ME a discount -- they have some nerve!)  The
       stuff they teach is pretty neat, but complicated.  Professor Hacker
       showed me the results of the first two quizzes, and I am now
       enormously impressed with our admissions office because the average
       student at MIT does very well with the material.

       I have been doing some "recreational programming," however I am now
       getting worried about myself because I find myself "hacking" up to
       about 20 hours each week, and my wife is getting upset about it.  I
       keep having ideas, like, perhaps it is possible to use the constraint
       language or the AMB interpreter to solve the problems of the calendar
       committee -- we could have a calendar that dynamically adjusts itself,
       where each term is exactly as long as it needs to be to make sure that
       all classes cover their material, and students all get the summer job
       of their choice!

       I got Professor Elbow (a recitation instructor) to tell me about the
       6.001 final exam.  It will have substantial questions concerned with
       chapters 4 and 5 of SICP.  In particular Professor Hacker has prepared
       a data-directed extensible-syntax version of the meta-circular
       evaluator from chapter 4.  I have been running it on my personal
       computer, and I have found it great fun to make up special forms and
       implement them using the data-directed mechanism.  I can build almost
       any language extension I might dream of!

       Attached you will find Professor Hacker's evaluator.  What do you
       think about all this?
