User:Macrakis
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I will be spending very little time on Wikipedia. To contact me, use Wikipedia e-mail, not notes on my Talk page.
[edit] Stavros Macrakis, Ph.D.
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Cambridge, Massachusetts
I've worked in software for over 30 years, in a variety of areas: Macsyma, a computer algebra system, and now on its open-source version Maxima; on Lisp language implementation and design; on Ada language design and compilers; on programming language design in general; on operating system kernels; on an architecture-neutral distribution format; on database management systems; on enterprise storage systems; on Web infrastructure software; on Web search, etc. My dissertation was on the design of programming languages.
I have a variety of other interests.
I'm interested in linguistics and languages, especially English, Greek (fluent in modern, rusty in ancient), French (fluent), Italian (good), Latin, Arabic, and Turkish (including Ottoman).
I'm interested in encyclopedias both for their form and their content, and have in my personal collection several English, French, and Greek encyclopedias from the 19th and 20th centuries.
I'm interested in architecture and design of various periods, and have a collection of kilims.
I enjoying eating and cooking, so have a library of cookbooks and books on food.
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- —Macrakis 04:53, 28 Feb 2005 (UTC), updated 4 Apr, 7 Oct
Wikipedia has tremendous potential, but it is discouraging to see how much effort we have to spend to deal with mindless vandalism, puerile boosterism and nationalism, and crank POV-pushing. It is also time-consuming to correct well-meaning but ill-informed enthusiasts, and to try to educate people about good research practices, but at least there you feel you're at least acting in an educational role. --Macrakis 18:27, 3 December 2005 (UTC)
