View Computer Musings, lectures given by Donald E. Knuth, Professor Emeritus of the Art of Computer Programming at Stanford University. The Stanford Center for Professional Development has digitized more than one hundred tapes of Knuth's musings, lectures, and selected classes and posted them online. These archived tapes resonate with not only his thoughts, but with insights from students, audience members, and other luminaries in mathematics and computer science. They are available to the public free of charge.

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Annual Christmas Tree Lecture

Professor Knuth will present his 15th Annual Christmas Tree Lecture on Tuesday, December 8, 2009 at 5:30 pm in Skilling Auditorium at Stanford University. The topic will be Spanning Trees and Aspects. There is no admission charge or registration required.

For directions to Skilling auditorium (494 Lomita Mall), use the directions to the Stanford Center for Professional Development in the adjacent Durand building (496 Lomita Mall). Parking on the Stanford campus is free after 4 pm.

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About Professor Knuth

Photo by Timothy Archibald

"I have always liked the concept of universities as they were in Ancient Greece, where folks who had something cool to say would just come and say it. It wasn't about recognition; the impetus was the thought that you were resonating with ideas."

Knuth's impact is far-reaching. Literate programming, attributed to Knuth, essentially holds that computer programs should be developed with an eye toward human comprehension more than computer readability. He maintains that the very act of communicating one's work clearly to other people will improve the work itself.

Knuth's programming texts are considered classics. In 1999 American Scientist named The Art of Computer Programming, Volumes 1-3 among the best twelve scientific monographs of the century. The TeX system for document preparation, which Knuth developed during the late 1970s and early 1980s, is still used to produce most of the world's scientific literature in physics and mathematics.

While acknowledging his contributions to the field, Knuth comments only that "some people seem to be interested in what I have to say."

"These lectures I've given have been inspired and shaped by the questions and responses of the audiences to whom I spoke, and I want to keep them alive," he explains. "We've got these tapes and the world is going digital; SCPD has the talent and expertise to convert them. I feel that archiving is important. I've learned from archived lectures and classes myself, so I think others can learn from these."

To view Knuth's lectures, please download the version of Windows Media Player that is compatible with your system. Click on any of the group titles below to view available lectures.