I learned everything I know from the streets. Read the Hacker Ethic. As long as one is curious the information is there. Set theory? Probability? Algebraic lat

I learned everything I know from the streets. Read the Hacker Ethic. As long as one is curious the information is there. Set theory? Probability? Algebraic lattices and convergent data structures? Monotonic functions? Cache registers and word alignment on some rare architecture you've never encountered before? Need to know how to write a compiler? I've learned some of this stuff and more on Usenet, web forums, IRC chats, books; from github, bitbucket, CPAN, PyPI, quicklisp; and by going to conferences, meetups, and even on the job. Academia is not the bastion of Computer Science fundamentals. As long as one is curious and has the intellectual tenacity to be critical then there's nothing that the ivory tower can offer that isn't available on the web, at your local library, and right on your damn computer. We don't live in the dark ages. Why do so many Computer Science people insist that only they know the true knowledge?