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∂18-Oct-78  1558	PRATT at MIT-AI (Vaughan Pratt) 	lisp   
Date: 18 OCT 1978 1858-EDT
From: PRATT at MIT-AI (Vaughan Pratt)
Subject: lisp
To: PRATT at MIT-AI, JRA at SU-AI

1. (Re Byte) Interestedp.
2. (Re conference) Interestedp maybe, though I've just been on the
APL-79 program committee and will also be on a APL vs LISP panel,
so since I want to get some real (non-LISP non-APL) research done
I may need to spread my efforts out some.

For Byte I would be willing to talk (a) about the contribution made to
LISP by mathematical logic and realted stuff (b) how syntax is a red
herring to some extent in that LISP syntax and LISP semantics can
be cleanly separated and the latter is more interesting, (c) what
a theorist like me finds useful about LISP in practical programming,
and/or (d) what features of LISP and APL could be elegantly combined
to form a more winning language.  I'm unqualified to talk about
history, and not particularly anxious to talk about implementation
issues - how to do it, who's done it, what they did, etc.