Concocted by sicko programmers, esolangs are the high comedy of the coding world. They test my patience. www.wired.com/story/machin...
Esoteric Programming Languages Are Fun—Until They Kill the Joke
Concocted by sicko programmers, esolangs are the high comedy of the coding world. They test my patience.
www.wired.com
May 22, 2025 at 10:03 AM
Concocted by sicko programmers, esolangs are the high comedy of the coding world. They test my patience. www.wired.com/story/machin...
In his playful collection "Forty-Four Esolangs," Daniel Temkin (@dtemkin.bsky.social) challenges conventional definitions of language, code, and computer, showing the potential of esolangs—or esoteric programming languages—as pure idea art: mitpress.mit.edu/978026255308...
September 23, 2025 at 1:16 PM
In his playful collection "Forty-Four Esolangs," Daniel Temkin (@dtemkin.bsky.social) challenges conventional definitions of language, code, and computer, showing the potential of esolangs—or esoteric programming languages—as pure idea art: mitpress.mit.edu/978026255308...
this is your brain on esolangs
October 17, 2023 at 2:00 AM
this is your brain on esolangs
And yes, I'm fully aware that this looks very much like Entropy from @dtemkin.bsky.social's 44 esolangs...
esolangs.org/wiki/Entropy
esolangs.org/wiki/Entropy
Entropy - Esolang
esolangs.org
September 24, 2026 at 9:16 AM
And yes, I'm fully aware that this looks very much like Entropy from @dtemkin.bsky.social's 44 esolangs...
esolangs.org/wiki/Entropy
esolangs.org/wiki/Entropy
I’m on Scott Hanselman’s podcast today, talking esolangs and code art hanselminutes.com/1026/daniel-...
Daniel Temkin and the Beauty of Esoteric Languages
What happens when code stops being useful and starts being art? Scott talks with artist and programmer Daniel Temkin about his new book Forty-Four Esolangs, a deep dive into the world of esoteric prog...
hanselminutes.com
December 5, 2025 at 12:05 PM
I’m on Scott Hanselman’s podcast today, talking esolangs and code art hanselminutes.com/1026/daniel-...
Got my copy of @dtemkin.bsky.social's Forty-Four Esolangs, which I think is a must-read for anyone interested in programming languages and art.
It's basically Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities for code
It's basically Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities for code
January 5, 2026 at 3:25 PM
Got my copy of @dtemkin.bsky.social's Forty-Four Esolangs, which I think is a must-read for anyone interested in programming languages and art.
It's basically Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities for code
It's basically Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities for code
My book now has a cover! It is working code in two of my languages (note the ternary codes at the bottom) and references the history of photographers emboldened to include cloud pics in their practice, something I've been preoccupied with since grad school. mitpress.mit.edu/978...
Forty-Four Esolangs
In Forty-Four Esolangs, Daniel Temkin challenges conventional definitions of language, code, and computer, showing the potential of esolangs—or esoteri...
mitpress.mit.edu
April 28, 2025 at 12:00 PM
My book now has a cover! It is working code in two of my languages (note the ternary codes at the bottom) and references the history of photographers emboldened to include cloud pics in their practice, something I've been preoccupied with since grad school. mitpress.mit.edu/978...
I'm about to get weirder
January 17, 2026 at 1:19 PM
I'm about to get weirder
"Rarely does an esolanger discover the most interesting possibilities of their language on their own; it is others’ experiments that reveal the nuance and character of a language."
(The preface from @dtemkin.bsky.social's excellent new book "Forty-Four Esolangs")
(The preface from @dtemkin.bsky.social's excellent new book "Forty-Four Esolangs")
The Hacker Folk Art of Esoteric Coding
Esolangs, or esoteric programming languages, highlight the hidden metaphors and conventions that structure mainstream programming.
thereader.mitpress.mit.edu
September 28, 2025 at 6:29 PM
"Rarely does an esolanger discover the most interesting possibilities of their language on their own; it is others’ experiments that reveal the nuance and character of a language."
(The preface from @dtemkin.bsky.social's excellent new book "Forty-Four Esolangs")
(The preface from @dtemkin.bsky.social's excellent new book "Forty-Four Esolangs")
Esolangs #code #coding #programming
YouTube video by _pyScrap
youtube.com
December 31, 2024 at 6:23 AM
Hey #FOSDEM and #GPN folks: I’ll be talking #esolangs this Friday night at ZKM; a reading and lively discussion of esoteric programming. Free, 6pm, Karlsruhe! zkm.de/en/2026/02/d...
“What happens when programming languages aim not at functionality, but at irritation, reflection, or poetry?”
“What happens when programming languages aim not at functionality, but at irritation, reflection, or poetry?”
Daniel Temkin: Forty-Four Esolangs
zkm.de
February 3, 2026 at 11:26 AM
Hey #FOSDEM and #GPN folks: I’ll be talking #esolangs this Friday night at ZKM; a reading and lively discussion of esoteric programming. Free, 6pm, Karlsruhe! zkm.de/en/2026/02/d...
“What happens when programming languages aim not at functionality, but at irritation, reflection, or poetry?”
“What happens when programming languages aim not at functionality, but at irritation, reflection, or poetry?”
Hey SF folks! I‘ll have a reading (more of a free association of esolang thoughts) Friday Night at Gray Area grayarea.org/event/book-l...
Book Launch & Signing — Daniel Temkin: Forty-Four Esolangs
Gray Area celebrates Artist and Author Daniel Temkin and his new monograph, "Forty-Four Esolangs."
grayarea.org
October 20, 2025 at 3:37 AM
Hey SF folks! I‘ll have a reading (more of a free association of esolang thoughts) Friday Night at Gray Area grayarea.org/event/book-l...
esolang deren code aussieht wie der wikerpedierartikel zu esolangs
April 21, 2025 at 2:40 PM
esolang deren code aussieht wie der wikerpedierartikel zu esolangs
The presentation of that Esolangs paper that got a lot of attention a few months back (discussed in the esolangs Feeling of Computing ep) is online now: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewEi...
[Onward!'25] Let's Take Esoteric Programming Languages Seriously
YouTube video by ACM SIGPLAN
www.youtube.com
December 14, 2025 at 4:03 PM
The presentation of that Esolangs paper that got a lot of attention a few months back (discussed in the esolangs Feeling of Computing ep) is online now: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewEi...
Funge will be officially released on July 20th! in one last week! #indiegame #indiedev #esolang #esolangs
July 13, 2026 at 4:53 AM
Funge will be officially released on July 20th! in one last week! #indiegame #indiedev #esolang #esolangs
New Yorkers: I'm back soon to talk Forty-Four Esolangs at LES indie bookstore P&T Knitwear.
It will include installations for two of the languages!
Tue, Dec 2nd, doors 6pm: ptknitwear.com/item/Jt0yuxc...
It will include installations for two of the languages!
Tue, Dec 2nd, doors 6pm: ptknitwear.com/item/Jt0yuxc...
Forty-Four Esolangs by Daniel Temkin | P&T Knitwear
A riveting collection of one artist’s many approaches to esolangs—esoteric programming languages—showcasing the form’s limitless artistic potential.
ptknitwear.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:37 AM
New Yorkers: I'm back soon to talk Forty-Four Esolangs at LES indie bookstore P&T Knitwear.
It will include installations for two of the languages!
Tue, Dec 2nd, doors 6pm: ptknitwear.com/item/Jt0yuxc...
It will include installations for two of the languages!
Tue, Dec 2nd, doors 6pm: ptknitwear.com/item/Jt0yuxc...
We're excited to host a book launch with Daniel Temkin, one of the world's leading experts in esoteric programming languages (or Esolangs).
Book Launch: Forty-Four Esolangs
2pm, October 15
Ahmanson Lab (3rd Floor of Leavey) @dtemkin.bsky.social @ahmansonlab.bsky.social
Book Launch: Forty-Four Esolangs
2pm, October 15
Ahmanson Lab (3rd Floor of Leavey) @dtemkin.bsky.social @ahmansonlab.bsky.social
October 6, 2025 at 2:22 PM
We're excited to host a book launch with Daniel Temkin, one of the world's leading experts in esoteric programming languages (or Esolangs).
Book Launch: Forty-Four Esolangs
2pm, October 15
Ahmanson Lab (3rd Floor of Leavey) @dtemkin.bsky.social @ahmansonlab.bsky.social
Book Launch: Forty-Four Esolangs
2pm, October 15
Ahmanson Lab (3rd Floor of Leavey) @dtemkin.bsky.social @ahmansonlab.bsky.social
Hey Seattle! Tuesday night I’ll be talking esolangs, code aesthetics, and expressiveness in the text of code
Hey Seattle folks! I'll be talking esolangs at Ada's Technical Books on 11/11. Would love to see you there. RSVPs are now open: luma.com/n30butuj
AUTHOR TALK: The Art of Esoteric Code with Daniel Temkin · Luma
The new book Forty-Four Esolangs collects programming languages by a single artist who poses code as prayer to the Greek gods, patterns of empty folders, or…
luma.com
November 5, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Hey Seattle! Tuesday night I’ll be talking esolangs, code aesthetics, and expressiveness in the text of code
Forty-Four Esolangs: The Art of Esoteric Code by Daniel Temkin mitpress.mit.edu/978026255308... #coding #esoteric
Forty-Four Esolangs
In Forty-Four Esolangs, Daniel Temkin challenges conventional definitions of language, code, and computer, showing the potential of esolangs—or esoteri...
mitpress.mit.edu
September 9, 2025 at 12:40 AM
Forty-Four Esolangs: The Art of Esoteric Code by Daniel Temkin mitpress.mit.edu/978026255308... #coding #esoteric
To be honest I feel this a lot, but its own version of it. I basically grew up on niche hobby communities (esolangs, conwaylifelounge, flairwars, sagehold, TVTropes...) and I feel like there was a noble equilibrium there, that is worth saving
September 22, 2026 at 12:28 AM
To be honest I feel this a lot, but its own version of it. I basically grew up on niche hobby communities (esolangs, conwaylifelounge, flairwars, sagehold, TVTropes...) and I feel like there was a noble equilibrium there, that is worth saving
Had a wonderfully meandering conversation with Sean (@adventofcomp.bsky.social) on #esolangs: INTERCAL-72 (we'd published the original compiler source code last year), the blandening of mainstream langs, and touching on the book (ostensibly the subj of the podcast) www.youtube.com/watch?v=utla...
Dan Temkin - Forty-Four Esolangs
YouTube video by Advent Of Computing
www.youtube.com
March 9, 2026 at 12:05 PM
Had a wonderfully meandering conversation with Sean (@adventofcomp.bsky.social) on #esolangs: INTERCAL-72 (we'd published the original compiler source code last year), the blandening of mainstream langs, and touching on the book (ostensibly the subj of the podcast) www.youtube.com/watch?v=utla...
Esolangs that embrace natural language can go much further than adopting silly keywords. Here are five languages that bring linguistic complexity into code. esoteric.codes/blog/five-es...
EsoNatLangs Bring the Complexity of Natural Language into Code
The five esolangs discussed in this piece -- Coem, Love Languages, Prāsa, Kip, and Captive -- draw on aspects of natural language usually avoided in code: nuance and ambiguity, complex grammars and mo...
esoteric.codes
April 16, 2026 at 12:44 PM
Esolangs that embrace natural language can go much further than adopting silly keywords. Here are five languages that bring linguistic complexity into code. esoteric.codes/blog/five-es...
Let's un-eso an esolang www.reddit.com/r/esolangs/c...
From the esolangs community on Reddit: I made a language that transpiles to brainfuxk
Explore this post and more from the esolangs community
www.reddit.com
March 18, 2025 at 12:24 AM
Let's un-eso an esolang www.reddit.com/r/esolangs/c...
Week 1 of the Critical Code Studies Working Group also features a discussion of Forty-Four Esolangs by Daniel Temkin including code critiques of several of his brilliant esoteric programming languages!
wg.criticalcodestudies.com/index.php?p=...
#critcode #ccswg26 @dtemkin.bsky.social
wg.criticalcodestudies.com/index.php?p=...
#critcode #ccswg26 @dtemkin.bsky.social
Book: Forty-Four Esolangs by Daniel Temkin
Daniel Temkin's Forty-Four Esolangs: The Art of Esoteric Code is our featured book discussion for this week.
wg.criticalcodestudies.com
January 13, 2026 at 3:41 PM
Week 1 of the Critical Code Studies Working Group also features a discussion of Forty-Four Esolangs by Daniel Temkin including code critiques of several of his brilliant esoteric programming languages!
wg.criticalcodestudies.com/index.php?p=...
#critcode #ccswg26 @dtemkin.bsky.social
wg.criticalcodestudies.com/index.php?p=...
#critcode #ccswg26 @dtemkin.bsky.social