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"al" is the brother of e.e. cummins. He's incredibly prolific.

Hmm, I'm out of the loop. Is pg referring to et. al.? As in `and others` (et alia/alii/aliae)?

Yes. Exactly that. In a short (bibliography or card catalogue) listing, SICP would have been by Abelson et al.

I did get that, but why is asking the undergrads "who is al" a joke?

cummings