I'm actually glad programmer-type people don't tend to scream like that, at least for another programmer-type person. (Though it disturbs me when anyone does it for someone--I can't stand live sporting events or concerts.)
I haven't heard Knuth lecture for maybe five years, but he seemed sort of stuttery -- something I don't remember from his last lecture I saw at MIT. Does anyone know if the stuttering is common / worsening? I'm worried about his mental health!!
In most of his online talks, his extemporaneous speaking style seems to be consistent. For instance compare with his Christmas trees lectures from the previos years.
I was lucky enough to see him in Manchester a few months ago, and the people who weren't expecting the stuttering were quite put off. Still, it was an incredible experience.
I was fortunate to see him in Manchester, England in February. As Manchester is the birthplace of the Small Scale Experimental Machine (SSEM), someone asked him:
Q: What would you have done with the SSEM if you had access to it?
A: Given that I was about ten years old at the time, I would probably have used it to check Facebook.
A great man, with a great sense of humour. (He later gave his real answer: he would write a program to play music on it.)
