A Mathematician's Apology is a good read on why the most abstract of subjects is worthy of study. It is a justification of pure mathematics, without resorting t

A Mathematician's Apology is a good read on why the most abstract of subjects is worthy of study. It is a justification of pure mathematics, without resorting to applied mathematics. Though not directly related to computing, it has some lovely insights, and is a thought provoking read. In computing we talk a lot of "elegant" code, without ever defining what elegance is, and in A Mathematician's Apology, Hardy talks of how the most beautiful mathematics is that which has not applicable to the outside world. It is odd in a way that the foreword to the book (a biography of Hardy, written by his friend C.P. Snow) is by a mathematician who is remembered for his contribution to physics; mathematics that seems to be the opposite of Hardy's definition of beauty.