Don Knuth – Constraint Based Music Composition (opens in new tab)

If you find yourself starting a sentence with an excuse, it's a good sign you are on the wrong side of polite behaviour. He's 77 years old.

The man built a career out of thinking and you bring up the oddity of him getting "lost in thought"?

He might have some sort of cognitive abnormality, but at this point who cares what it is? He's Donald freaking Knuth.

Because he's not some CEO bounding on to the stage and projecting him self with his chest puffed out?

Through some odd twist of, who knows what, I attended the same high school as Donald Knuth. When I learned this, I asked my grandmother if she knew him - she (and my late grandfather) were involved with school since was formed. Not only did she know exactly who he was, but had read one of his books! (Not a CS book, of course; 3:16.) I'm glad that I get to tell people that even my granny has read Knuth.

Don is such an interesting and humble person -- and oh so very sharp.

I ran into this short video after watching the music one, which shows what a very hard worker he was and still is:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9514350

I don't understand this.

Can't see who's playing. Is it a recording or some sort of MIDI performance?

I would wager a bet that it is a pipe organ belt.

He reminds me of a Physics professor I had in college. She was taught by Catholic nuns, and she had a lot of the same mannerisms.