If you look at the code, you'll be (unpleasantly) surprised, I think. The author does not seem to have known what Y combinator is.

▲

skrishnamurthi 3 days ago | parent | next [-]

If it helps, you will find the Y-combinator described (indeed, derived) in the first edition (https://cs.brown.edu/~sk/Publications/Books/ProgLangs/2007-0...) of the author's programming languages book (https://www.plai.org/). (Page 228, if that helps, though the derivation begins on page 223.)

For added fun, the day he teaches it in class, he wears a t-shirt from Y-combinator the startup accelerator (and explains what its name means).

Now that we've gotten that out of the way, it remains unclear what is surprising or unpleasantly surprising about the code.

	▲	userbinator 3 days ago \| parent \| next [-]
		This reminds me of when John Nagle showed up in a thread about his algorithm on here.
	▲	adityaathalye 3 days ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Shriram invoking Shriram ... (λ.x (x x) λ.x (x x)) forever \m/ :)

▲

blahedo 3 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

In addition to the general sibling comments, I can personally attest that Shriram knows what the Y combinator is and has been teaching students about it for at least 25 years. My own lecture notes from one of his classes about the lambda calculus and the Y combinator were for a long time on the front page of google results for info about either!

▲

plaitowin 3 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I'm pretty sure Shriram Krishnamurthi understands the Y combinator...

▲

Philpax 3 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shriram_Krishnamurthi

▲

skrishnamurthi 3 days ago | parent [-]

Don't see Y-combinator mentioned anywhere on that page.

▲

adityaathalye 3 days ago | parent [-]

But I do see that page mentioned on Y Combinator's page.

The joke can go on forever...

▲

shawn_w 3 days ago | parent [-]

Somebody forgot to add a base case.

	▲	adityaathalye 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		No need... Shriram is already based.

▲

almostgotcaught 3 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

These are my favorite types of comments on hn

	▲	neilv 3 days ago \| parent [-]
		The HN guidelines suggest assuming the strongest interpretation of what someone said, so obviously the commenter was making a joke. :)

▲

srpablo 3 days ago | parent | prev [-]

lmao Google him