Live data from Hacker News

Prof. Sussman's Reading List

aurellem.org

1–10 of 78 posts

Re: Prof. Sussman's Reading List

#3
I cannot recommend 'The Society of Mind' enough. This was my first book before diving into Cognitive Science. Although it is mostly psychology(i.e.speculation), it is a brilliant book with insights and ideas.

Re: Prof. Sussman's Reading List

#5

Quantum Computing since Democritus in high school reading list is very heavy. I have had Theory of Computation class in college and I can't read 20 pages of that book.

It's not any heavier than GEB, and they will probably get more out of it. My picks in there would be Lanczos, Heinlein, and Levy, and SICP and SICM.

Re: Prof. Sussman's Reading List

#6

Quantum Computing since Democritus in high school reading list is very heavy. I have had Theory of Computation class in college and I can't read 20 pages of that book.

It's not any heavier than GEB, and they will probably get more out of it. My picks in there would be Lanczos, Heinlein, and Levy, and SICP and SICM.

Umm.. I could read GEB; it was tough but more understandable. QCD is way over my head :), but may be because I am dumb.

Re: Prof. Sussman's Reading List

#7

Quantum Computing since Democritus in high school reading list is very heavy. I have had Theory of Computation class in college and I can't read 20 pages of that book.

To provide a second opinion: for me it was probably one of the best books I read last year -- extremely lucid writing and very lively. I think I would have loved it in high school.

Re: Prof. Sussman's Reading List

#8

Quantum Computing since Democritus in high school reading list is very heavy. I have had Theory of Computation class in college and I can't read 20 pages of that book.

It's not any heavier than GEB, and they will probably get more out of it. My picks in there would be Lanczos, Heinlein, and Levy, and SICP and SICM.

I agree with you on SICP. Reading it was the single biggest improvement in my career as a programmer.

Re: Prof. Sussman's Reading List

#9
I'm happy to see The Variational Principles of Mechanics (by the great Lanczos) on that list. It really is deep, and I think it does a fantastic job of explaining classical mechanics. I've read the vast majority of the book multiple times.

Since we're on the topic of Sussman, has anyone here read through SICM? I've heard that the code is difficult to get to work, but does anyone have an opinion on the rest? I haven't had a chance to read it yet.

Anyone read both Lanczos and SICM?

Post reply on HN