61–70 of 76 posts
A series of essays and books impacted my life the most. It all started on a sunny day, when I was a structural engineering intern full of hope and a beautiful girlfriend, waiting for my code to run(blah blah iteratively determine deflections of structures with non-linear stress-strain responses blah blah), when I read: https://www.cs.utexas.edu/~EWD/transcriptions/EWD10xx/EWD103... I quit my job the next day. This wa…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I was just about to take that to a book reseller today because I haven't read more than a few snippets in ten years....maybe I should hold off on that.
The first few chapters have some really good lessons in them. It isn't really, in my opinion, a great book to read all the way through, but the little stories in the margins are well worth reading.
A series of essays and books impacted my life the most. It all started on a sunny day, when I was a structural engineering intern full of hope and a beautiful girlfriend, waiting for my code to run(blah blah iteratively determine deflections of structures with non-linear stress-strain responses blah blah), when I read: https://www.cs.utexas.edu/~EWD/transcriptions/EWD10xx/EWD103... I quit my job the next day. This wa…
I've been obsessed with productivity and mindfulness ever since.
Not a book, but this essay: http://www.wired.com/1996/12/ffglass/ Convinced me that I absolutely wanted to do backbone ISP network engineering on a grand scale. It's taken a while to get to the level of knowledge where one is trusted and confident working on circuits that can take whole countries off the internet if you fuck up, but very much worth it.
I kind of love the idea of hacker tourism, and I wish I could find more journalism of this type. A character somewhere between enthusiast/gonzo/reporter on a seemingly obscure quest that leads to unexpectedly deep reflections on the world we inhabit.
I am a non CS guy who learnt C++ programming in order to do simulation for my final year project in mechanical engineering. I ended up creating a wonderful GUI (MFC) simulation complete with the diagram of the engine etc. For the next 5 years or so as a freelancer developer assisting professors and the like, I created pretty hot shot applications with nifty graphics, UI etc. I began to see myself as a master programmer and thought how easy it is for CS guys compared to Mech guys. Then I picked up this book. I had never known any of what it talked about. The very first example of union find was a revelation. My ego was completely thrashed. I was thoroughly humbled.
As for non technical, it would be The Count of Monte Cristo. I first read an abridged version of it as part of high school curriculum. As a young teen, I was instantly enamored by revenge and adventure. I still long to own a yacht and sail the oceans, if not get imprisoned, or find a treasure, or kill people. I am reading it again at bedtime and Dantes just got locked up at Chateau d'if.
A series of essays and books impacted my life the most. It all started on a sunny day, when I was a structural engineering intern full of hope and a beautiful girlfriend, waiting for my code to run(blah blah iteratively determine deflections of structures with non-linear stress-strain responses blah blah), when I read: https://www.cs.utexas.edu/~EWD/transcriptions/EWD10xx/EWD103... I quit my job the next day. This wa…
Most importantly: Did you marry the beautiful girlfriend?
The Bible. Probably has impacted the society I live in more than any other book and society in turn has impacted me. It's well-worth reading for a lot of reasons.
Harry Potter has better story and better lessons.