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For such a relatively innocuous and general comment, you're taking this very personally.

by axman6 13y ago

camus2 13y ago
Well at least i'm sure this mahmud guy has better things to do than trolling me on HN now. I did not come here for a fight just to suggest an alternative version of SICP. I just dont like trolls and I responded appropriately.
- mahmud 13y ago
  You read way too much into my comment. I wasn't trolling. My position is that if you're involved in computing in any capacity, you will have to learn countless formalisms and languages. And S-expressions are on the more accessible end of the spectrum. If you and I learned it, so can others. Exclusively seeking out C-like syntaxes will only hinder you, professionally. P.S. SICP introduces all the Lisp you will need as it goes. Really.
  - camus2 13y ago
    > You read way too much into my comment. I wasn't trolling. yes you are trolling,now go back to wherever you come from,because you're not contributing to any constructive discussion.
    - dang 13y ago
      Please do not address another user this way on Hacker News.
    - jinfiesto 13y ago
      I'm going to support mahmud here, and suggest that your behavior is the least constructive in this particular sub-thread. He's absolutely right that Lisp is simple and the basic rules can be picked up in an hour or two. He's also right that over the course of a career in computing, you'll have to pick up countless formalisms and languages. Additionally, SICP is not for the faint of heart. It is not an easy text, and the use of Lisp is fairly central to its main point. This is not to say that computing shouldn't be accessible. It definitely should be. That being said, SICP covers intrinsically "difficult" material. There's no substitute for an iota of determination here. If you don't have the determination (not intelligence) to be bothered to learn Lisp, you're not going to be able to complete SICP. It's not going to happen.

For such a relatively innocuous and general comment, you're taking this very personally.

by axman6 13y ago

For such a relatively innocuous and general comment, you're taking this very personally.

Well at least i'm sure this mahmud guy has better things to do than trolling me on HN now. I did not come here for a fight just to suggest an alternative version of SICP. I just dont like trolls and I responded appropriately.

mahmud 13y ago
You read way too much into my comment. I wasn't trolling. My position is that if you're involved in computing in any capacity, you will have to learn countless formalisms and languages. And S-expressions are on the more accessible end of the spectrum. If you and I learned it, so can others. Exclusively seeking out C-like syntaxes will only hinder you, professionally. P.S. SICP introduces all the Lisp you will need as it goes. Really.
- camus2 13y ago
  > You read way too much into my comment. I wasn't trolling. yes you are trolling,now go back to wherever you come from,because you're not contributing to any constructive discussion.
  - dang 13y ago
    Please do not address another user this way on Hacker News.
  - jinfiesto 13y ago
    I'm going to support mahmud here, and suggest that your behavior is the least constructive in this particular sub-thread. He's absolutely right that Lisp is simple and the basic rules can be picked up in an hour or two. He's also right that over the course of a career in computing, you'll have to pick up countless formalisms and languages. Additionally, SICP is not for the faint of heart. It is not an easy text, and the use of Lisp is fairly central to its main point. This is not to say that computing shouldn't be accessible. It definitely should be. That being said, SICP covers intrinsically "difficult" material. There's no substitute for an iota of determination here. If you don't have the determination (not intelligence) to be bothered to learn Lisp, you're not going to be able to complete SICP. It's not going to happen.