7 ms·
Ask HN: Books Similar to Code by Charles Petzold?
Code is an awesome book, especially for someone like me who never went to college. I am looking for similar books not just in Computer Science but in other fields as well. Please suggest.
- mindcrime 5y agohttps://www.nand2tetris.org/book https://www.nand2tetris.org/book
- captn3m0 5y agoI read them both together and nand2tetris is better because it forces you to do it on your own so you understand it better.
- digianarchist 5y agoSurprised they haven't updated the website with the 2nd edition.
- arisbe__ 5y agoThe Pattern on the Stone by Danny Hillis (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pattern_on_the_Stone https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pattern_on_the_Stone) Complexity a Guided Tour by Melanie Mitchell (https://melaniemitchell.me/BooksContent/CAGTReviews.html https://melaniemitchell.me/BooksContent/CAGTReviews.html)
- arisbe__ 5y agoAlso 3 more "easy overview" type books: The New Turing Omnibus by A K Dewdney (https://www.amazon.com/New-Turing-Omnibus-Sixty-Six-Excursions/dp/0805071660 https://www.amazon.com/New-Turing-Omnibus-Sixty-Six-Excursio...) The Society of Mind by Marvin Minsky (https://www.amazon.com/Society-Mind-Marvin-Minsky/dp/0671657135/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=society+of+mind&qid=1639246763&s=books&sr=1-1 https://www.amazon.com/Society-Mind-Marvin-Minsky/dp/0671657...) Creating Mind: How the Brain Works by John E Dowling (https://www.amazon.com/Creating-Mind-How-Brain-Works/dp/0393974464/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=creating+mind&qid=1639246462&sr=8-3 https://www.amazon.com/Creating-Mind-How-Brain-Works/dp/0393...)
- arisbe__ 5y agoSorry I can't help myself, but here are some more "easy overview" books: The Manga Guide to ... (series) from No Starch Press (https://nostarch.com/catalog/manga https://nostarch.com/catalog/manga) The Cartoon Guide to ... (series) from Larry Gonick (http://www.larrygonick.com/ http://www.larrygonick.com/) Physics for Everyone (series) from Mir Publishers an old Soviet publisher (https://mirtitles.org/2011/06/03/physics-for-everyone/ https://mirtitles.org/2011/06/03/physics-for-everyone/) Note that one of the Mir PDF scans is a little bad, but I think someone will probably republish these soon if possible.
- blondin 5y agoIsaac Asimov series "Asimov on ..." one of my favorite science writers ever. some people like his science fiction better. but i prefer his non-fiction books. try Asimov on Physics or Asimov on Chemistry. these two are my favorites. don't bother getting new books, get used ones. or rent it from a local library (which is how i discovered Asimov). also keep in mind that the information in these books might be outdated but not necessarily wrong.
- wwwwewwww 5y agoI was going to suggest "Understanding physics" by Asimov. I think "On physics" is a collection of essays where "Understanding physics" is more a complete bottom-up treatment like Petzold's "Code".
- hwestiii 5y agoWhen I was in HS, I found Asimov’s “World of Carbon” on a book shelf in my second trimester Chemistry class, read it, and then proceeded to ace Organic Chemistry when it was presented during third trimester.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- kaladin_1 5y agoOh! You might enjoy nand2tetris then... A classic, most probably worth your time.
- archielc 5y agoThere's another amazing instant classic book by Charles Petzold - "The Annotated Turing".
- jlc 5y agoI'll amplify nand2tetris. And I'll throw in The Little Schemer and Understanding Computation. They come from a different direction than Code/nand2tetris. When I got that they all sort of meet in the middle, I found it mind-blowing.
- stakkur 5y agoI could recommend a hundred, but I'll limit myself to four: 1. Computer Science: The Pattern on the Stone is a nearly perfect, foundational explanation of how computers work. 2. The Mind: Brain Rules (John Medina) is a fast, well-organized read on the fundamentals of how your brain works (and how to work it). 3. History: From Dawn to Decadence (Jacques Barzun) is a dense but brilliant read on the how the past 500 years made the modern world we live and think in. 4. How to Live: A New Earth (Eckhart Tolle). Don't reject it as 'new age-y'; this book may change how you see yourself. If it turns you off, substitute Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind.
- showerst 5y agoFor cryptography, “the code book” by Simon Singh is an awesome similar intro/history.
- actually_a_dog 5y agoHere's a list of 10 good, popular mathematics books: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/jan/18/ian-stewart-top-10-popular-mathematics https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/jan/18/ian-stewart-to... Of the list, I've read Goedel, Escher, Bach", and What is Mathematics Really* and can recommend them wholeheartedly. GEB is a bit of a project, but it will bend your mind in a good, math-y way. I first read it in high school, so the material should be pretty accessible.
- unwind 5y agoMeta: typo in title, "Charlse" -> "Charles". Hopefully the ever-vigilant mods are watching. Thanks.
- endofreach 5y agoNot saying that the op has dyslexia, but i wonder how dyslexia feels like for a programmer? And dyslexia in general, is it like the mind can‘t stop and „go back“ to the word you just wrote? Or is it more that the eyes don‘t notice when reading what you wrote?
- codetrotter 5y agoI don’t have dyslexia either but the way that I’ve heard it described is that the letters appear to float around so it becomes hard to determine if the letters are in order or not. Curious to know if fonts like OpenDyslexic actually help, and if programmers with dyslexia use those sorts of fonts. https://opendyslexic.org/ https://opendyslexic.org/ Furthermore, has anyone with dyslexia attempted to use a screen reader the same way that people with vision impairments do?
- endofreach 5y agoNever heard of OpenDyslexic. Thanks for your input. Curious to hear from some dyslexic programmers on here
- runjake 5y agoApplied Cryptography by Bruce Schneier.
- anon2020dot00 5y agoI'd recommend "A Common-Sense Guide to Data Structures and Algorithms" by Jay Wengrow as a good intro to the topic