alan kay

#person #lab #interfacedesign #research #learning #visuallearning #design #technology #🌱

one of the very influential early innovators in personal computing.

from wikipedia:

Alan Curtis Kay (born May 17, 1940) is an American computer scientist best known for his pioneering work on object-oriented programming and windowing graphical user interface (GUI) design. At Xerox PARC he led the design and development of the first modern windowed computer desktop interface. There he also led the development of the influential object-oriented programming language Smalltalk, both personally designing most of the early versions of the language and coining the term "object-oriented."

his thoughts on education involving technology, user interfaces, visuals and world models are still very relevant today and have influenced people like bret victor, maggie appleton and many other contemporary computer researchers/developers.

simple introduction to a few of his ideas (2008 TED talk): Alan Kay: A powerful idea about teaching ideas.

8-page introduction/historical account: Alan Kay: Transforming the Computer Into a Communication Medium

17-page chapter: User Interface: A Personal View (1989).