Comment by vsuperpower2020
12 days ago
Do you really need this explained? It's a 600 page technical book and people have a limited amount of time to sort through everything that exists.
12 days ago
Do you really need this explained? It's a 600 page technical book and people have a limited amount of time to sort through everything that exists.
Agree but you are replying to a user named "lisper".
Maybe he struggles with a speech impediment, you insensitive clod!
</Slashdot_nostalgia>
Have you never been to a book store?
You don't have to read every word of a book to understand if it's interesting to you. I purchased a bunch of technical books the other day that I had never heard of based on opening them up, reading a bit of the intro and flipping through the examples.
Relatively few of my favorite books have come through recommendations compared to those that I have come across through serendipitous discovery.
For anyone who has no time to browse books, then most of the best books in existence would be of little interest to that person.
Do not waste your time and energy relying on the opinion of others. Always check yourself.
> It's a 600 page technical book
> why don’t you just start reading it and decide for yourself?
A journey of a thousand miles....
this book is at the top of the list of near every list of best programming books of all time. its worth reading. is it an easy read? no. its sort of like the Illiad. Not an easy read. But worth it for anyone who wants to be considered well read.
> It's a 600 page technical book
You do understand that you don't have to read an entire book before forming an opinion, right?
> sort through everything that exists
"Book that has been considered a classic for forty years and was used as the intro text at MIT for decades" is a long, long way from "everything that exists".
I did begin reading it a few years ago, and it seemed like a lisp flavored intro CS book. Why do I want to read an intro CS book? I've read those before. Yet people promise me that this one is different, while giving me nothing but condescending promises of enlightenment.
I guess the honest question is "what are you looking for in a response to your question?"
You asked if you should read it, and almost everyone who bothered to reply has said yes. Each time this topic comes up and people ask if they should read it the majority of responses are 'yes'. And I presume if you've been around software for that long, you've seen all of those threads and previous questions and answers like I have - meaning you likely knew what people would say when they responded.
So, in the end, it's up to you to decide if you'll read it or not.
I don't know you personally, but from my life experience it sounds to me like something I've seen in other circumstances. You've more or less decided that you're not going to read it, but feel like you're missing out and you want someone who as read it to say "it's ok to not read it". So you can resolve both the feelings of the decision to not read it, and the uncomfortableness of feeling like you're missing out.
It's possible I'm way off the mark on the above, but I mean it to be helpful - as I can say I've seen what looks to be this same pattern many times in life.
or what you're likely looking for: In the end, there are only so many hours in the day. You gave it a fair shot and it wasn't your vibe. It doesn't say anything about your strength as an engineer, it just has a specific approach and it's not a match for everyone. That doesn't make it a bad thing, it just means you'd rather spend your time learning and exploring in other ways. And it probably would've had more impact earlier in your career than at the level of experience you have now.
But of course before wrapping up I do need to undo my comment: I think you should give it another go. Maybe skim past the early part if it feels a bit to introductory and come back to it later. But it's a book that continues to grows on you the more time it's been since you read it. The concepts it presents are subtle but impactful in changing how you think about software. You don't fully grasp it when you read it. It's just that afterwards you just start seeing things through its lens often. I haven't read any other book like it.
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> Why do I want to read an intro CS book? I've read those before.
"We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time." - TS Eliot.
You aren't a curious person who studies things for their own sake and finds wonder in exploring ideas. That's fine, this book is clearly not for you so why concern yourself with it? Most of my friends who are obsessed with their field count many intro books as their favorites and frequent re-reads.
> condescending promises of enlightenment.
It sounds like you're more upset that other people enjoy and therefore recommend this book. You're the one asking for proof that it's worth your time. It's clearly not. People who are curious and like to explore ideas in computing recommend this book frequently to other like minded people.
If you don't like sushi, why question somebody's recommendation for their favorite omakase place?
If you are experienced then I’d say skim whatever sounds interesting from chapters 1-3, then do chapters 4/5 as they contain most of the interesting stuff.
Maybe not for you, but there is bunch of expert beginners out there that would benefit from reading up intro CS stuff.
Okay. And you didn't have to read all 600 pages before deciding it wasn't for you.
Right?
> Yet people promise me that this one is different, while giving me nothing but condescending promises of enlightenment.
You do understand that it's possible for different people to place different values on the same thing, right?
I mean, clearly there are many, many people who do find the book valuable. You're not one of them. That's fine! But it doesn't mean the book sucks.
Weasel words. Considered a classic by who? And why would being an "intro text at MIT" mean it's good for someone who is already experienced? If anything, that should show it's not worth his time.
> Considered a classic by who?
By just about everyone who's ever compiled a list of the greatest CS books of all time?
Here you go:
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=classic+computer+science+books&t=b...
Count how many of those have SICP on their list (hint: most of them, excluding the ones that aren't actually lists of CS books -- e.g. the ones that have Jobs and Gates biographies, etc.)
I didn't just make that up, dude. And this isn't Wikipedia, either.