5 ms·

I was reading a book on a long train journey from Paris to Nice by train that I read usually once a year. My girlfriend couldn't understand why I was reading a

I was reading a book on a long train journey from Paris to Nice by train that I read usually once a year. My girlfriend couldn't understand why I was reading a kids book as it had an elephant on the front. I told her it wasn't, but was in fact one of the most profound books about teaching you to think in a new way. So I let her read it and she got about half way through and she totally got it and loved it. No harder than doing a crossword or a sudoku for the first time. The book is: http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/little-schemer http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/little-schemer

jarcane 12y ago
I seriously need to get a copy of this book. I've been hearing about the Little Schemer ever since I first entered the Lisp world; and one of the authors of that edition even works on my favorite Lisp (Racket).
- cpach 12y ago
  It’s amazingly well written/designed.
- jwdunne 12y ago
  It's brilliant. By gradually building up to it, I started to really understand recursion, the power of lambdas and closures, etc. I also started to get Lisp and Scheme in the process. It's a great book, well worth it and if you're venturing out into the Lisp world, I strongly recommend it. If you're not into Scheme, I believe the book also contains equivalent Common Lisp code.
pdpi 12y ago
> My girlfriend couldn't understand why I was reading a kids book as it had an elephant on the front Thought you were going to say it was Learn You a Haskell For Great Good.
- jarcane 12y ago
  I'm actually reading that one right now. It's quite good, and has made a Haskell fan out of me already despite getting a bit fatigued by chapter 8.
  - ics 12y ago
    Finished chapter 8 yesterday in the middle of a 40C fever. Checked the page number only to realize I wasn't even halfway through...
    - ics 12y ago
      That would be 38C... apparently my brain hasn't fully caught up yet.
  - pdpi 12y ago
    Oh you'll be rid of the fatigue soon enough, that's about when the real fun starts :)
userbmf 12y ago
100% agreed, reading this is like being 8 and walking down a path with your hero holding your hand explaining about whatever is mystifying you. It's that pleasant.

jarcane 12y ago

I seriously need to get a copy of this book. I've been hearing about the Little Schemer ever since I first entered the Lisp world; and one of the authors of that edition even works on my favorite Lisp (Racket).

cpach 12y ago
It’s amazingly well written/designed.
jwdunne 12y ago
It's brilliant. By gradually building up to it, I started to really understand recursion, the power of lambdas and closures, etc. I also started to get Lisp and Scheme in the process. It's a great book, well worth it and if you're venturing out into the Lisp world, I strongly recommend it. If you're not into Scheme, I believe the book also contains equivalent Common Lisp code.

pdpi 12y ago

> My girlfriend couldn't understand why I was reading a kids book as it had an elephant on the front Thought you were going to say it was Learn You a Haskell For Great Good.

jarcane 12y ago
I'm actually reading that one right now. It's quite good, and has made a Haskell fan out of me already despite getting a bit fatigued by chapter 8.
- ics 12y ago
  Finished chapter 8 yesterday in the middle of a 40C fever. Checked the page number only to realize I wasn't even halfway through...
  - ics 12y ago
    That would be 38C... apparently my brain hasn't fully caught up yet.
- pdpi 12y ago
  Oh you'll be rid of the fatigue soon enough, that's about when the real fun starts :)

userbmf 12y ago

100% agreed, reading this is like being 8 and walking down a path with your hero holding your hand explaining about whatever is mystifying you. It's that pleasant.