Re: Indian Economy
Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 7:42 pm
Oh. Yes, he was not too bad. At least the direction was right even though progress was incremental.
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This is still an active area of research. Automatic bug fixing and software repair.jayakris wrote:So somebody else needs to write a program to correct the program.
Program verification/formal verification work has been there for a long time. As early as 1969, Tony Hoare proposed Hoare logic. Floyd had done some work in the area in 1967. And, people pretty much knew programs were mathematical constructs and proving theorems and formalizing things have been done for a long time. The inspiration for work in the area stems from Kurt Goedel's incompleteness theorem, which threw cold water on Bertrand Russell's efforts. I find this history fascinating. Read some pop math books to learn about the works and your time will be well spent.Then you need another program to check THAT program"...
I think Rajiv was the most sensible and pragmatic member of the Nehru dynasty. What he tried to do was eminently sensible (at the start), and on computers he had foresight and guts -- at a time when there was intense opposition to introducing them into the country. Today, it is easier to book a train or plane ticket online in India than almost anywhere else partly because of Rajiv's political courage in forcing through change. Unfortunately, the cynics within Congress eventually got to him. (On the Sri Lanka episode, Rajiv wasn't hit by a baton but by the butt of a soldier's rifle; he fended it off, and continued inspecting the honour guard, relatively unruffled). In 1991, Rajiv designed a boldly reformist election manifesto for Congress, but I don't think he would have been able to implement with as much vigour as Narasimha Rao was able to. Despite his pout, PV Narasimha Rao was the finest of the Congress Prime Ministers: he not only got the economy back on track, he fixed the Khalistan problem, resolved the Assam issue, and restored peace in Kashmir -- apart from re-orienting our foreign policy to be pro-US, and to re-engage with the rest of Asia. A genuinely good PM, who will hopefully be remembered by posterity with much more fondness than the Nehru family allows currently.jayakris wrote:I remember one of his speeches, in the US if I remember correctly (or to a US deligation in India?), Rajiv Gandhi said something like this -- "Computers are great, but my problem with computers is that somebody needs to write the programs. Then you need the programs to be correct. So somebody else needs to write a program to correct the program. Then you need another program to check THAT program"... Pretty far-out thinking back in early 1985 when many were just waking up to the idea of computers running the world. But may be because of his delivery, it elicited a big laughter from everybody. I need to check if my memory is correct and what exactly he said. The other thing I remember is his getting hit by a soldier with a batton while inspecting a guard of honor (in Sri Lanka?). He jumped away like a little kid, all scared! ... He was a decent fellow though.
Jay