Letter from Julian Vincent

Transcribed from the printed issue; not yet reviewed. Read it in the PDF of the issue, page 19

Letters¶

Since the plea in a previous column for readers (particularly those overseas) to write in to say they wish to continue receiving Education Vector a number of letters came my way which could be regarded as ‘fan’ mail. Their expressions of interest in these columns have helped to make my time as Editor very rewarding.

From: Julian Vincent, University of Reading

I have been meaning to write this letter some time - I was a member of the British APL Association for 3 years, receiving its very glossy publication Vector, and finding little in it of interest, since I am neither a totally committed APLer nor am I terrifically computer-literate . I hack around in BASIC sufficiently to be able to write routines for analysing data and controlling one or two bits of lab. machinery. However I feel that as a supervisor of research students, and also because I am curious about most things, I should acquire some knowledge of various aspects of science and its analysis. Hence my tangential interest in APL. However, your column was the only bit of Vector which I found to be consistently interesting, amusing and (even!) useful. When I realised that it would be sent to me even if I was not on the mailing list for Vector, I’m afraid I let the Vector find its own way home.

So this letter is by way of fan mail, perhaps to the extent that your little pamphlet is to me the most important bit of APL education I can pick up. Please keep sending it. If you need a subscription in the future, don’t be afraid to ask for it!