Let’s Play CA!

Hey!

Let’s play CA!

No, I have to work..

You Jerk!

Don’t you know it’s really so

That nowadays CA’s

Are all it takes

To have fun and get a ton done?

But .. do I have to look

At that that Big Fat Book?

No, you schnook!

Put a stop to your research flop,

Shop for a laptop.

Get in the mode

To write a load of code,

And you’re on a grassy road

Waiting to be mowed!

But what is my mission ..?

You have my permission

To study a phase transition

(On your own volition).

But what of tradition

And the competition?

Will I get an audition

For a position?

That’s my suspicion.

And in addition, recognition

For you erudition and ambition

As a technician.

You’re so breezy,

But a little sleazy.

I’m feeling queasy..

Is it really that easy?

No. You’ll have to think.

Or you’ll stink and sink!

(Wink, wink.)

But once you’ve gotten the CA religion

You’ll never back up, not even a smidgeon.

It will be routine
To switch on a machine

And watch a gene

Replicate on your screen

While drinking caffeine.

So, come take a walk

To hear a talk:

A lollapalooza by D’Souza.

She’ll tell you why it’s pivotal

To know the world is digital.

She’ll take an oil refinery,

Translate it into binary,

Protect it from a looter

Running code on her computer..

You’ll want to learn this art

From someone who is smart

Who won’t leave you behind.

And I don’t know where you’d find

A wisah advisah than Raissa.

John Preskill

April, 2003