You famously say you didn't invent JSON, you discovered it. Why did you decide to formalize and publish the standard data format for JSON? Was there
any inspiration?
There were two brilliant languages, Lisp and Rebol, that had a portable
representation of data structures in their syntax. My knowledge of those
languages helped me realize that JavaScript did that too. I believe that
I was not the first to discover that.
You've been an important contributor to the early Javascript ecosystem, creating tools like JSLint and JSMin.
At the time, did you foresee Javascript being ubiquitous across web development, even at large companies?
Is there anything you find surprising about the direction of the modern web stack?
My first impression of JavaScript was that it was the stupidest thing I ever
saw. I took another look at it in 2000 and realized that there was brilliance
in it. At that time, it was widely believed that the WWW had run its course and
was about to be superseded by something better: An application delivery system
would replace the document delivery system. Microsoft's dotnet was one of the
many contenders. The browser won because it had JavaScript in it which allowed
it to act like an application delivery system. So we are stuck with the
browser, at least for now. Even the large companies that bet against the web
are doing lots of JavaScript now. As Brendan Eich says, always bet on
JavaScript.
The thing that surprises me about the modern web stack is the crazy popularity
of bloatware. We all know the benefits of efficiency, but the popular
frameworks are big, slow, and unnecessary.
If you had unlimited resources (time, money, etc.), how would you spend your time?
I would invest in good things. For example, I would invest in Aptera.us and
help them bring their solar electric cars to market.
Then I would dig a railroad tunnel from Santa Clarita to Grapevine and gift it
to the State of California.
Then I would beat Elon to Mars. I don't think there is much point in going to
Mars, but I would like to get there first. Just because.
Are there any people or projects you particularly admire today?
I have reached a point in my career where I no longer pay attention to what
other people are doing.
What's a message you have for the world?
Stop eating meat and fish. The ecological effects are disastrous. Plants have
a much smaller impact.