The Computer Scientist Who Can’t Stop Telling Stories

You also have many projects that have nothing to do with computer science, such as your musical composition, Fantasia Apocalyptica. You even built your house around a two-story pipe organ. Is this variety also part what makes you happy? I wrote a couple of books, including Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About, that are about theology — things you can’t prove — rather than mathematics or computer science. My life would not be complete if it was all about cut and dried things. The mystical things I don’t understand give me humility. There are things beyond my understanding.

In mathematics, I know when a theorem is correct. I like that. But I wouldn’t have much of a life if everything were doable. This knowledge doesn’t tear me apart. Rather, it ensures I don’t get stuck in a rut.