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After spending more than a decade and a half in the field of software development/computer science I’ve come to realise some fields simply are not attractive to

After spending more than a decade and a half in the field of software development/computer science I’ve come to realise some fields simply are not attractive to many/most people of other fields. Not at all. Hell, CS is not attractive to a lot of people working in the field. They work because it pays the bills. So no, at the risk of sounding like I’m full of myself, I’d say there’s simply ZERO such books at least for computer science. It’s a very specific field that many people get zero exposure to from school till the end. Unlike fields like history, arts, even medicine/diseases etc.

musicale 5y ago
While not exactly books per se, magazines can be inspiring as well. Along with availability of inexpensive hardware, I suspect that electronics and computing enthusiast magazines were one of the catalysts for computing becoming a popular hobby in the 1970s and 1980s. Although we may not currently have as many cool electronics and computing enthusiast magazines as they had back then, we do have a few of them including Make:, Linux Format, and RasPi. (Not to mention the internet and youtube, but sometimes it's hard to know where to start and where to go, and print media are good for that.) In the area of computer music production, I rather like Computer Music; a typical issue provides music production apps and plugins that you can download and use as well as instructional articles and video explaining how to use them. Recently I was also inspired by wizardzines.com - I think we need more books (or zines) in a fun and tutorial style!
mdp2021 5y ago
Read at least Algorithms to Live By and think again. > I’d say there’s simply ZERO such books Sorry but that's plainly illogical. "Read them, come back and report." (Can you notice that the form of that very sentence shows a clash against the mentality that could align with a passion for CS? A CS specialist that formed such expressions would signal to be forcing against inclination.)
TrackerFF 5y ago
Seems like you're getting downvoted, but I think it's a fair point. If you, as the reader, are at the point where you can dive into a technical textbook and keep focus enough to read it - chances are you're already somewhat interested in the field, or have some exposure to related field. I don't think there's any book that can attract ANYONE to the field. Had the question instead been "Which lecture / article / video", then I'd say that there's tons of good bite sized pieces that can light a fire for most people...but whole / complete books? That's gonna be a particular type of audience. Even undergrad 101 books are made for people with a certain level of interest.
rramadass 5y ago
You have a valid viewpoint. I think it is more due to the failure of the CS "Intelligentsia" to popularize Computing(theory) and Computer(machines) Sciences for the Layman. Computers have ushered in a most radical change in our societies and yet they are a complete mystery to most "ordinary" people. There are more popular science books on "Quantum Physics" than on "Computing/Computer Science" which is sad to say the least. But i think there is hope for the future with books like a) Code by Charles Petzold b) Algorithmics by David Harel becoming more popular.

musicale 5y ago

While not exactly books per se, magazines can be inspiring as well. Along with availability of inexpensive hardware, I suspect that electronics and computing enthusiast magazines were one of the catalysts for computing becoming a popular hobby in the 1970s and 1980s. Although we may not currently have as many cool electronics and computing enthusiast magazines as they had back then, we do have a few of them including Make:, Linux Format, and RasPi. (Not to mention the internet and youtube, but sometimes it's hard to know where to start and where to go, and print media are good for that.) In the area of computer music production, I rather like Computer Music; a typical issue provides music production apps and plugins that you can download and use as well as instructional articles and video explaining how to use them. Recently I was also inspired by wizardzines.com - I think we need more books (or zines) in a fun and tutorial style!

mdp2021 5y ago

Read at least Algorithms to Live By and think again. > I’d say there’s simply ZERO such books Sorry but that's plainly illogical. "Read them, come back and report." (Can you notice that the form of that very sentence shows a clash against the mentality that could align with a passion for CS? A CS specialist that formed such expressions would signal to be forcing against inclination.)

TrackerFF 5y ago

Seems like you're getting downvoted, but I think it's a fair point. If you, as the reader, are at the point where you can dive into a technical textbook and keep focus enough to read it - chances are you're already somewhat interested in the field, or have some exposure to related field. I don't think there's any book that can attract ANYONE to the field. Had the question instead been "Which lecture / article / video", then I'd say that there's tons of good bite sized pieces that can light a fire for most people...but whole / complete books? That's gonna be a particular type of audience. Even undergrad 101 books are made for people with a certain level of interest.

rramadass 5y ago

You have a valid viewpoint. I think it is more due to the failure of the CS "Intelligentsia" to popularize Computing(theory) and Computer(machines) Sciences for the Layman. Computers have ushered in a most radical change in our societies and yet they are a complete mystery to most "ordinary" people. There are more popular science books on "Quantum Physics" than on "Computing/Computer Science" which is sad to say the least. But i think there is hope for the future with books like a) Code by Charles Petzold b) Algorithmics by David Harel becoming more popular.