I've never met Professor Knuth, but he taught me a lesson that I treasure.<p>I suppose these days the best way I can describe it is that his example "de-weaponized" Christianity for me.<p>It could be said that religion is like a radioactive material; too much of it all together can go boom.<p>But Prof Knuth's lesson for me was that I didn't have to leave my mind at the door outside when entering a church. I found his book, "Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About", a series of talks that he gave at an MIT Symposium.<p>And I don't, much. Talk about these things. And there's lots I don't like about church and the role we seem to press upon it.<p>But compassion and honesty seem to work pretty good. I'm grateful.<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Things_a_Computer_Scientist_Rarely_Talks_About" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Things_a_Computer_Scientist_Ra...</a>