Comment by vector_spaces
3 months ago
SICP uses Scheme in the same way all programming must use some language, but it's not a book that is primarily about Scheme. The problems in this book are challenging in any language and the ideas around computation are more or less universal -- see editions and derived books in Python and JavaScript[1][2]
Also, YMMV: I have a math background and got sucked into programming because the appeal of being able to hold an idea in my hands by writing a program that I could poke and prod and play with was really exciting. The quixotic spirit of the book fed my enthusiasm. (And this is neither here nor there, but I think pedagogy in a first course should probably skew quixotic)
People get into programming for all kinds of reasons -- I recognize that SICP isn't the right book for everyone, and that there is a lot of elitism around this book. Nobody should feel bad about not getting much from it, and I think it has severe pedagogical flaws, but I'm very glad and grateful that it exists because for me, personally, it was exactly what I needed.
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