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It would be interesting to see how effective those programs would be if run on the device. I can't decide if I'd have found them enlightening or distracting. S

It would be interesting to see how effective those programs would be if run on the device. I can't decide if I'd have found them enlightening or distracting. Setting aside Wolfram's book, I also wonder if Knuth's Art of Computer Programming, Abelson and Sussman's Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs, or the Introduction to Algorithms books would benefit. We'll see soon I'm sure. But getting back to the static version, certainly one benefit is to avoid carrying the dead tree versions, as Wolfram pointed out.

glhaynes 16y ago
When I think "which of my college classes could I have learned more from if I'd had an iPad version of the textbook", data structures and algorithms stands out the most. I'd love to see a really good adaptation of an already-good static textbook in these fields... I'm not in school anymore, but I might read it just for fun.
- jacobolus 16y ago
  Yes. Both data structures and CS theory (making proofs about different computation models, &c.) courses would benefit tremendously even from having better PC/web-based visualizations/simulations. Stepping through the behavior of turing machines, or graph searching algorithms, or what have you, is much much clearer on a computer than on a blackboard or paper.
Tichy 16y ago
Come to think about it, it is actually kind of exciting. You could also have a REPL for every example and solve the problems on the spot (and get immediate feedback).
- nswanberg 16y ago
  It is exciting! But what I wonder about is what a tablet gets you that you don't get with downloading PLT Scheme and visiting http://mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/full-text/book/book-Z-H-11.html#%_sec_1.2.5 http://mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/full-text/book/book-Z-H-11.html... Or in the case of NKS, tracking down Mathematica and downloading the code from the book and playing with that on a PC. I don't have an ipad, so I can only guess. Wolfram mentions getting excited about zooming in on the diagrams, and about using the app to refer to parts of the book for himself or to show others. In fact, it seems like the tablet would be great for two people exploring a book or data together.
  - Tichy 16y ago
    Mainly convenience, I suppose. Also the immediate feedback on solutions could be good. How many times do you really do the exercises in books, no matter how much the authors stress that it is important to do the exercises? I tend to skip and save them "for later".
  - jerf 16y ago
    Of all the disciplines that will be revolutionized by computers, I do not think programming will be one of them, because it has already been revolutionized by programming. You already have an unparalleled ability to self-teach programming because programming has already closed the feedback loop as tightly as it can possibly be, with REPLs and so on and so forth. Don't forget that whatever glorious visual interactive treats you envision will have to be, you know, implemented, and decent odds it's already either implemented or not really worth implementing for programming. Sure, it's nice to see a tree balancing or a linked list getting traversed but the virtues of pretty animations start fading as you get a hang of the material. The value of digital education won't and doesn't come from putting a thin, shiny veneer of digital on top of analog textbooks, it will come from enabling entirely new learning modes based around instantaneous and copious feedback that humans can't give, because there aren't enough of them or because they simply can't feed back fast enough. Try to model more disciplines to look like how a modern self-taught hacker learns programming, don't pine as a programmer for flashy textbook-like "digital textbooks" for programming.

glhaynes 16y ago

When I think "which of my college classes could I have learned more from if I'd had an iPad version of the textbook", data structures and algorithms stands out the most. I'd love to see a really good adaptation of an already-good static textbook in these fields... I'm not in school anymore, but I might read it just for fun.

jacobolus 16y ago
Yes. Both data structures and CS theory (making proofs about different computation models, &c.) courses would benefit tremendously even from having better PC/web-based visualizations/simulations. Stepping through the behavior of turing machines, or graph searching algorithms, or what have you, is much much clearer on a computer than on a blackboard or paper.

Tichy 16y ago

Come to think about it, it is actually kind of exciting. You could also have a REPL for every example and solve the problems on the spot (and get immediate feedback).

nswanberg 16y ago
It is exciting! But what I wonder about is what a tablet gets you that you don't get with downloading PLT Scheme and visiting http://mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/full-text/book/book-Z-H-11.html#%_sec_1.2.5 http://mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/full-text/book/book-Z-H-11.html... Or in the case of NKS, tracking down Mathematica and downloading the code from the book and playing with that on a PC. I don't have an ipad, so I can only guess. Wolfram mentions getting excited about zooming in on the diagrams, and about using the app to refer to parts of the book for himself or to show others. In fact, it seems like the tablet would be great for two people exploring a book or data together.
- Tichy 16y ago
  Mainly convenience, I suppose. Also the immediate feedback on solutions could be good. How many times do you really do the exercises in books, no matter how much the authors stress that it is important to do the exercises? I tend to skip and save them "for later".
- jerf 16y ago
  Of all the disciplines that will be revolutionized by computers, I do not think programming will be one of them, because it has already been revolutionized by programming. You already have an unparalleled ability to self-teach programming because programming has already closed the feedback loop as tightly as it can possibly be, with REPLs and so on and so forth. Don't forget that whatever glorious visual interactive treats you envision will have to be, you know, implemented, and decent odds it's already either implemented or not really worth implementing for programming. Sure, it's nice to see a tree balancing or a linked list getting traversed but the virtues of pretty animations start fading as you get a hang of the material. The value of digital education won't and doesn't come from putting a thin, shiny veneer of digital on top of analog textbooks, it will come from enabling entirely new learning modes based around instantaneous and copious feedback that humans can't give, because there aren't enough of them or because they simply can't feed back fast enough. Try to model more disciplines to look like how a modern self-taught hacker learns programming, don't pine as a programmer for flashy textbook-like "digital textbooks" for programming.