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Ask HN: Which non-programming books are a beneficial read for programmers?
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Re: Ask HN: Which non-programming books are a beneficial read for programmers?
#52The essentials, looking at my non-CS shelves: * "Alice in Wonderland", Carroll * "Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid", Hofstadter * Either "His Dark Materials", Pullman; or "Illuminatus!", Shea and Wilson * "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", Adams (all of its sequels are also good) * "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" and "Lila", Pirsig * Either "Watchmen", Moore and Gibbons; or "1984" or "Ani…
Godel, Escher, Bach definitely to see how nearly everything can be made into symbols which computers can manipulate, eg how music is maths etc
Re: Ask HN: Which non-programming books are a beneficial read for programmers?
#53Which programming books are actively harmful for developers? I'd put the "Gang of Four" Design Patterns book in this category.
I find it useful for labelling things, then its simple to remember the last time you did the same in a particular environment, assess wether or not the pattern is useful for solving the problem and either reject or use it.
Re: Ask HN: Which non-programming books are a beneficial read for programmers?
#54I listen to books during commutes and errands, and give them a letter grade when I'm done. I read a lot of different genres as I believe there's value in all genres (and mediums too).
These are some of the books I've given an "A" over the last few years, roughly grouped by genre:
Nonfiction:
- A Short History of Nearly Everything
- Fabric of the Cosmos
- Dataclysm
- The Righteous Mind
- Merchants of Doubt
- Dead Wake
- Man's Search for Meaning
- Evicted
- The New Jim Crow
- Night
Sci-fi:
- We
- The Sirens of Titan
- Hyperion
- Stories of Your Life
- Frankenstein
- The Day of the Triffids
- Childhood's End
Fantasy:
- The Stormlight Archives
- The First Law Trilogy
- The Lord of the Rings
Literature:
- The Stranger
- Dubliners
- Things I've Learned from Dying
- The Things They Carried
- Cloud Atlas
- Stoner
- Pillars of the Earth
Re: Ask HN: Which non-programming books are a beneficial read for programmers?
#55"Getting to Yes" and "Getting Past No".
"A Pattern Language" by Christopher Alexander.
"The No Asshole Rule".
"How to Lie with Statistics".
Re: Ask HN: Which non-programming books are a beneficial read for programmers?
#56The essentials, looking at my non-CS shelves: * "Alice in Wonderland", Carroll * "Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid", Hofstadter * Either "His Dark Materials", Pullman; or "Illuminatus!", Shea and Wilson * "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", Adams (all of its sequels are also good) * "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" and "Lila", Pirsig * Either "Watchmen", Moore and Gibbons; or "1984" or "Ani…
> Be wary of anybody who recommends self-help, attitude improvement, psychology, business/management, or similar genres. This is a fairly broad rejection of multiple genres. While I agree that there are bad eggs in all of those categories (some moreso than others), there also is value to be found, and wariness of someone simply for recommending a book from one of those categories sounds overly harsh and dismissive.
Not to put words in someone else's mouth, but isn't the advised wariness targeted at the recommenders rather than the genres?
Re: Ask HN: Which non-programming books are a beneficial read for programmers?
#57"the moon is a harsh mistress" and other things by Heinlein
Re: Ask HN: Which non-programming books are a beneficial read for programmers?
#58Which programming books are actively harmful for developers? I'd put the "Gang of Four" Design Patterns book in this category.
Peeking at your website, I suspect that the reason you don't like the GoF book, or perhaps design patterns in general, is that they are aimed at an audience solving different problems than those in your work. For developers doing application level development, the GoF book, while a bit dated, is useful. More generally, this kind of systematic approach ("Where have I seen this pattern before, and is it applicable to my current problem?") is IMHO, a good thing, as it brings structure to the thinking process.
Re: Ask HN: Which non-programming books are a beneficial read for programmers?
#59Here are some books I listened to on Audible in the last year and a half, listing those that I enjoyed the most. Each of these books changed me in some ways, I never thought how much fun it is to listen to biographies and how many lessons there are. 0. Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High, Second Edition 1. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable 2. Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and t…
I love 14. Different but equally interesting, you might like Superforecasting
Re: Ask HN: Which non-programming books are a beneficial read for programmers?
#60"Tools of Titans" by Tim Ferriss A must-read piece for wannabe achievers like me