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Some Favorite Non-Technical Books (2018)

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Re: Some Favorite Non-Technical Books (2018)

#11

Post by urs2102 »

One of my favorite classes with Bjarne from college was Bjarne telling us the story of a ten year-old who wrote him asking if it was too late to start programming and what he should learn so he can work as a programmer (to get started so he could be one of the best in the world at something in the field).

Bjarne says he responded by telling the kid to stop worrying about work or what he wanted to work as, and to spend time playing (both on the computer and just outside) because it was just as good as good for the mind as sitting in front of the computer and that ten year-olds could often be the best in the world at playing.

Similar to his penchant for fiction here, this is something I’ve always loved about Bjarne... despite being so good at one thing: finding the beauty in balance.

Re: Some Favorite Non-Technical Books (2018)

#12

Post by ycosynot »

RachelF wrote: post #5

I love the good ol' fashioned web page look.

We lost something. At the beginning of internet, I remember, there were this kind of lists, with many links to interesting webpages, or quirky stuff. Surely you know what I mean, it was usual to see along smart blogs, this kind of list of gorgeous references, and it was amazing.

Maybe I'm missing something, but nowadays the internet seems "diluted", there is more noise than information, and it's full of common sense, low-value content (like Wikihow, I'm sorry to say). Google Search is a bit responsible, they rank at the top superficial stuff, and we lost trace of this kind of juicy content.

If someone has more links like this one, I'd be happy to read about it.

Re: Some Favorite Non-Technical Books (2018)

#13

Post by richardjdare »

I read "Seven Gothic Tales" by Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen's pen name) after seeing it quoted in Stroustrup's "The C++ Programming Language". Lovely dreamlike prose. Stroustrup's book is one of my all-time favourite technical works, I hope we get a new edition for the latest versions of the language.

Re: Some Favorite Non-Technical Books (2018)

#14

Post by lonesword »

>This "use" of literature and history is reflected in my choice of reading: There is very little "heavy" reading listed here.

And then he lists Dostoevsky and Homer. Those doesn't count as heavy reading? What counts as heavy reading? Ulysses/Paradise lost?

My "oh hell yeah!" moment was when i saw Lord of the Rings in the list :p

Re: Some Favorite Non-Technical Books (2018)

#15

Post by dmos62 »

lonesword wrote: post #14

>This "use" of literature and history is reflected in my choice of reading: There is very little "heavy" reading listed here. And then he lists Dostoevsky and Homer. Those doesn't count as heavy reading? What counts as heavy reading? Ulysses/Paradise lost? My "oh hell yeah!" moment was when i saw Lord of the Rings in the list :p

Do you find those difficult to read? I've not read them, so I'm actually asking. Or, is this a sentiment about older literature not being interesting, because of different tempo, cultural context, etc?

I think difficulty in reading something is a personal thing. For example, I find reading Pynchon very difficult, because I can't seem to track what's happening and because there's a sense of being inside someone's personal joke that you don't quite get. I find reading George R. R. Martin very easy, because it doesn't require analysis; but then, a friend of mine couldn't get through the first book of Song of Ice and Fire, because he found the vocabulary tedious.

Re: Some Favorite Non-Technical Books (2018)

#16

Post by nihonde »

Hands down, the most useful non-technical book I’ve read is The True Believer by Eric Hoffer. Written in 1951, but utterly timeless, it unlocks a new way to view your fellow man by revealing the impulses that lead someone toward fanatical mass movements. In a funny way, it frees you from participating in the pointless debates about ideologies and allows you to be more empathetic to those who have fallen into the trap of mass movements. Beautifully written, too, without even a hint of academic pretensions.

Re: Some Favorite Non-Technical Books (2018)

#17

Post by Errancer »

lonesword wrote: post #14

>This "use" of literature and history is reflected in my choice of reading: There is very little "heavy" reading listed here. And then he lists Dostoevsky and Homer. Those doesn't count as heavy reading? What counts as heavy reading? Ulysses/Paradise lost? My "oh hell yeah!" moment was when i saw Lord of the Rings in the list :p

Non-technical theory books I guess?

Re: Some Favorite Non-Technical Books (2018)

#18

Post by silverdemon »

RachelF wrote: post #5

I love the good ol' fashioned web page look.

Straight to the point; nothing but the good stuff! These days I am happy just that something is presented as text and not a pointless, time-sapping video.

Given the paucity of free time, I would much rather spend it reading books like those listed here than listen to someone mumble and umm-ahh to deliver in 10 minutes what I can read in 1 minute.

On his list of books itself, perhaps I am a bad judge of character but I assume someone who reads a diverse range of books will have the mindset to take on board a diverse range of factors in their technical work. Perhaps the vast scope of the C++ language reflects this!

Re: Some Favorite Non-Technical Books (2018)

#20

Post by newsbinator »

urs2102 wrote: post #11

One of my favorite classes with Bjarne from college was Bjarne telling us the story of a ten year-old who wrote him asking if it was too late to start programming and what he should learn so he can work as a programmer (to get started so he could be one of the best in the world at something in the field). Bjarne says he responded by telling the kid to stop worrying about work or what he wanted to work as, and to spen…

I'd bet that the nervous 10-year-old promptly ignored Bjarne's advice and went on to ask others what to cram.
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