Claudio Ciborra
Professor of Information Systems
London School of Economics
Universita' IULM
University of Oslo
In occasion of this ceremony I would like to evoke some personal souvenir regarding the friend and mentor Kristen. On other more academic and scientific occasions I hope to be able to contribute to the collective endeavors aimed at assessing and further developing Kristen's scientific legacy.
But even in expressing my condolence and presenting a personal remembering I don't think I am in the position to legitimately join in full the family, the computer science community and the Norwegian political groups with whom Kristen has been mostly closely associated during his life.
Still, I think I can give a voice to those like me, who are marginal to the family, the computer science community and the political organizations, but on whom Kristen has had a deep and long lasting impact as a mentor, a leader , a supporter during difficult times or simply, but perhaps above all, as a friend.
Quite often Kristen liked to recollect the first time we met, of all places at an EEC (not yet EU, sorry) summer course in Stratford, UK, sometimes in 1977. Twenty five years ago I was a young researcher interested in the social impacts of informatics and meeting Kristen gave me immediate exposure to the early trade unions projects in Norway and the idea of data avtaler. Since then, Kristen has had multiple opportunities to interfere with my life and career, from rescuing my shaky position from the Italian academic mafia up to writing the preface to my latest book just a few months ago, and forcefully suggesting, that is, imposing to change at the last minute the very title of the book, while ignoring the fury of the well established, conservative and slow moving Oxford University Press.
To be sure, Kristen has performed all these interventions in those ways many of his friends and colleagues like to remember: action-oriented; ruthlessly grabbing at the jugular of injustice; generous in acute and close to sarcastic critique; pushing and perhaps slightly manipulating people and circumstances, of course always with savoir faire, flair and wit.
I think then it is no use to share here the war stories of General Kristen, ranging from the precarious peace treaties with Johanna, to his fettucine Alfredo Nygaard art; to the fights with Dijkstra and Langefors. We all know and like to remember Kristen as a hero in these episodes. Perhaps he has contributed on purpose to build such a persona because he wants to be remembered in this mighty, idiosyncratic and somewhat funny way.
Still, benefiting of my marginal position I mentioned at the beginning, I think I can enjoy the privilege of distancing, if ever for a moment, and try to reflect on what Kristen has been for me beyond such striking appearances. In doing so I feel necessary to somehow put into brackets the image of Informatics General Kristen, and after putting aside this image, to contemplate what is left as a personal legacy to me.
Surprisingly, I am left with a quite different set of things and moments to remember and hold tightly onto.
To begin with, a deep sense of aesthetics, as the driving force of the young Kristen student of astronomy, and later of applied mathematics. But also a delicate friend, sometimes during the conversation bordering on shyness. And, an enjoyable connoisseur of countries, wines, people all over the world, with a special leaning for Italy. A very attentive listener of music, but above all of people. In closer exchanges, a master of the unsaid communicated with a gaze.
I would have plenty of episodes to report over the past 25 years to support my different image of Kristen, the one that at the end of the day lies the closest to me, but let me mention just a minor one from last year summer trip, which Kristen organized for me and for an Italian friend from Naples. A taste of Norway, from Jotunheimen to the Fjords, with Kristen as guide and chauffeur in Johanna's new Subaru.
It was a splendid trip,
which included some transgressive episodes we Italians love, such as driving
at crazy speed all along the fjord to catch the last ferry…On our way back
to Oslo we were passing through Troll country. Kristen felt as his utmost duty
of hospitality in that moment to convince the two shrewd Machiavellian friends
that Trolls exist, and dwell just there behind the trees of the dark forest
we were passing by, or below the stones. So, he gave voice to them, as you can
imagine a powerful and rancorous voice. I guess Kristen told, or better interpreted,
Troll stories for at least a couple of hours putting me and my friend to sleep.
We woke up in Oslo, Kristen having brilliantly completed the tour he had so
intelligently planned for our knowledge and pleasure, and left us with an extremely
kind, almost formal, smiling greeting. I still remember him in that very mode:
light, gentle, and deeply caring.
About Kristen Nygaard
Professor Kristen Nygaard died in his home on 10 August 2002, at the age of 75.
After a successful career in computer science, Nygaard shifted his attention to information systems in 1971. He pioneered the first action research project in the field on behalf of a trade union, and it demonstrated how the Iron and Metal Workers’ Union could influence development of information systems. Subsequently, user participation and action research have been cornerstones of information systems research in Scandinavia. The Norwegian legislation on working environment also adopted these ideas of user involvement. In October 1990 the American association Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility awarded him its Norbert Wiener Prize for responsibility in social and professional work. In the 80’s, Nygaard was effective in building a research group on information systems in the Department of Informatics, University of Oslo. The group is now attracting a large number of post-graduate students. He was awarded the John von Neumann Medal and the A. M. Turing Award in 2001 for developing the first object-oriented programming language SIMULA in 1967. Both these awards were shared with his co-inventor, professor Ole-Johan Dahl, who also passed away recently.Nygaard also developed the first object-oriented system description language DELTA in the 70's. Lately, he initiated a new research project on learning object-oriented methodologies.In these days, our thoughts go to his family and especially to his wife Johanna, who warmly welcomed all the the academic visitors, whom Nygaard so often received in his home.
Jens Kaasbøll
Department of Informatics, University of Oslo
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last updated
19 August, 2002