I was inspired to browse some of Edsger Dijkstra’s essays today, and came across his speech, “Under the spell of Leibniz’s Dream”. It’s the sort of personal history I love to read, which gives one person’s sense of the world over a period of change. One quote that immediately struck me was his view of his country’s spirit after WWII: An important side-effect of the hard times was the creation of a spiritual climate in which the distinction between pure and applied science had va...
