Abstraction and Learning
In this interview, he explains these concepts using examples from the real world. Examples include SQL, effectful computing and several others areas.
We also talk about how to learn and acquire the skills necessary to understand complex concepts. Concepts like highly polymorphic code and category theory.
Runar also explains his latest project unison computing and how it uses the correct level of abstraction to rethink several foundation ideas in software development.
Runar:Yes, it’s a sort of mind-body integration thing. I think it’s just like learning to dance, or play the guitar or whatever, you can’t really know how to play the guitar abstractly, and no one can really just tell you how to play the guitar. You got to do it.
Adam:That was Runar Bjarnason. He co-wrote Functional Programming in Scala, a book that was very influential for me, and for a number of people I know. But we aren’t talking about that today. Actually go back to episode five for that interview. Today, we talk about abstruction and precision, and also the relationship between constraints and freedom. My take on Runer’s ideas is that when writing software, if you constrain yourself to the least powerful abstraction that will work, then you will have more freedom to compose things at a higher level.
Runer, I interviewed you probably more than a year ago for the podcast, and we talked a lot about the basics of functional programming, from your book Functional Programming in Scala, that I guess you co-wrote. And a little bit at the end, we started talking about abstraction. So thanks for coming back. And I was hoping we could dig in more on that topic.
