I recently did David Beazley’s SICP course, and I wanted to write about what we covered.

We discussed a lot of topics. I sketched out a number of ways to approach the book, initially by focusing on what blew my mind the most and then shifting towards what I thought was the key take away.

As a first-time reader of SICP, I had doubts on getting these subtle-yet-powerful ideas across. Maybe I can explain it in person, but in written form you don’t get the benefit of the audience telling you where they’re stuck.

In fact there were some concepts where I’m not sure I know the distinction myself. For example, what’s the difference between computing and programming? Does it matter?

This is where ChatGPT comes in. It was amazing. While others have pointed out factual inaccuracies in its answers, with regards to SICP I say ChatGPT knows the book very well.

Thinking about my own role, I now see myself more as a curator and the reader like a visitor to the museum. It’s my job to think about the main points, draw connections between them, and find the best narrative to get them across.

I’ve always been fascinated by problems where the best ‘team’ is human and machine working together. I still remember reading Tyler Cowen’s New Yorker interview when I first moved to the Bay Area. I re-read it from time to time.

I write software for a living. Am I scared? Admittedly yes. Am I curious? Also yes.

The SICP post can be found here, transcript with ChatGPT below.