Cormen, Introduction to algorithms
Ask HN: What are the most eye-opening textbooks you have ever read?
11–20 of 171 posts
Re: Ask HN: What are the most eye-opening textbooks you have ever read?
#12The Timeless Way of Building by Christopher Alexander.
It really made me reconsider the process and ultimate goals of building systems beyond housing, and how to make pattern languages for any system I build, especially software systems.
Re: Ask HN: What are the most eye-opening textbooks you have ever read?
#13There was a horticulture textbook that showed a zoomed-out plot of land on the cover, which with its divisions and sectional diversity effectively looked something like an illustration of the inside of a CPU.
It wasn't intentional as far as I know, but I have to admit that stuck in my head ever since as a really eye-opening metaphor. And the contents of the book were really new to me and even more eye-opening.
Wish I had the name of the book, sorry.
Re: Ask HN: What are the most eye-opening textbooks you have ever read?
#14Maybe it's been read already by anyone here, but Carl Sagan's "The demon-haunted world" turned me into an atheist and made me appreciate much more science and the scientific method in general. The irony part is I got to read it because a the logic teacher in my catholic nun-ruled school suggested it.
Re: Ask HN: What are the most eye-opening textbooks you have ever read?
#15This book "opened my eyes" to its contents, but that's not the lesson. It taught me valuable written communications skills I didn't even know I needed.
Kourik, _Drip Irrigation for Every Landscape and All Climates, 2nd Edition_ https://www.amazon.com/Drip-Irrigation-Every-Landscape-Clima...
Picked this up on a whim from the library. I have to say, I couldn't put it down, which was ... odd. It's concise, clear, well-ordered, and humorous at times. The author is humble and he's cross-referenced all his designs with an extensive bibliography.
Re: Ask HN: What are the most eye-opening textbooks you have ever read?
#16Obvious answers:
Griffiths - Electromagnetics Chambers - The Western Experience
Re: Ask HN: What are the most eye-opening textbooks you have ever read?
#17Fractals Everywhere, Michael F. Barnsley. I love the way it starts: >Fractal geometry will make you see everything differently. There is a danger in reading further. You risk the loss of your childhood vision of clouds, forests, flowers, galaxies, leaves, feathers, rocks, mountains, torrents of water, carpet, bricks, and much else besides. Never again will your interpretation of these things be quite the same.
marvelous book. prof barnsley is also a wonderful man and teacher
Re: Ask HN: What are the most eye-opening textbooks you have ever read?
#18Rethinking Madness by Dr. Paris Williams.
Helped me to understand psychosis as a natural process, then when supported, results in a more sane, connected and healthier individual — and that that modern medical world is dramatically behind.
Re: Ask HN: What are the most eye-opening textbooks you have ever read?
#19The Timeless Way of Building by Christopher Alexander. It really made me reconsider the process and ultimate goals of building systems beyond housing, and how to make pattern languages for any system I build, especially software systems.
I studied urban planning in grad school, but didn't discover Alexander until I learned that my favorite band Phish had modeled their work on a Pattern Language.
Re: Ask HN: What are the most eye-opening textbooks you have ever read?
#20Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About The World - And Why Things Are Better Than You Think (English Edition)
Hans Rosling, Ola Rosling, Anna Rosling Rönnlund
I'm reading this right now and I'm quite surprised by how little I know about the most impactful data on human well-being. The writing is a little bit off sometimes but still worth looking at.
I also liked "Fooled by randomness" by Nassim Taleb. His other writings are good too but I would say this one is the most impactful.