In the vast, sprawling ecosystem of software and gaming, certain juxtapositions are so jarring they loop back around to making perfect sense. On one hand, you have – the austere, no-nonsense Integrated Development Environment (IDE) used by statisticians, data scientists, and academics to run regression models on clinical trial data. On the other, you have Minecraft – the digital Lego-land of infinite blocky horizons, where pre-teens build rollercoasters and tech moguls prototype server architecture.

At first glance, comparing (a professional integrated development environment for statistical computing) to Minecraft (a sandbox video game) seems absurd. Adding “Catholic” to the mix feels like a random word generator.

Thus spawned : an Integrated Development Environment, solemn and gray as a basilica’s nave. Its panes were four like the gospels: Source (Matthew), Console (Mark), Environment (Luke), and History (John). The devout user knelt before the Knit button—a modern Eucharist—transforming .Rmd into HTML as if turning water into wine.

Possible interpretations (assumed resolution)

#RStats #DataScience #Minecraft #ProgrammingHumor #Posit

Crufixies, tabernacles, and candlesticks for use on altars.