Requesting good books for my summer vacation.
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To be honest I am overwhelmed on the massive release of new programming languages and frameworks...Its getting stupid.
So you are advocating use the available tools well instead of invent new tool to do job of the old tool.
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Well I do want to be smarter, but I am doing that by default every day (programming byproduct education (I feel a joke coming)). I think I would like to let my mind breathe a little. Not starve or anything...Just something lower than abstract algebra.
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This is one book I attempt to read, but give up after he explain about Chicago drug lord and slums.
Hmm, I thought it was a bit of a lightweight readโฆ
My recommendation is:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/ML-Working-Programmer-Larry-Paulson/dp/052156543X
I read through it one summer as a student โ without computer, with just pen and paper, and doing all the exercises โ and became a much better programmer from doing so. I don't know the literature for Haskell so there might be good books there too; when I read the above book, the literature for Haskell was still effectively non-existent. There also wasn't really any such thing as the Web outside of CERN, though we did have gopher and WAIS, which does date me a bit.Oh, and we also had coloured book networking instead of TCP/IP. Ugh.
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My recommendation is don't take any summer vacation.
Get back to work @Frank
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Yeah, it's a textbook on Abstract Algebra. It starts off with monoids, groups, rings, and modules ("vector spaces" over rings instead of fields), polynomials (numbers written in base "x") fields. And then it goes into Galois theory and representation theory. And other topics, like "advanced" linear algebra and homology theory.
Think of it as a 900 page book of puzzles. If you read it and do even half of the exercises, you will be at least 11% smarter. It's a hard subject, though. Still, an old edition is only $7 at abebooks.
And yeah, the book is suitable for a graduate course in abstract algebra.
Occasionally, I get the urge to find a good math book and get up to speed on analytic geometry, algebra, statistics and a bunch of other stuff useful in programming that I pretty much skipped during highscool.
Then I remember I don't hate myself, and read a comic book instead.
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There also wasn't really any such thing as the Web outside of CERN, though we did have gopher and WAIS, which does date me a bit.
Yeah, me too. I was well past my student days when the Web came to be, so I'm probably a few years older than you. Regardless, I don't want to date you; I'm pretty sure you're not my type.
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Ahhhh!!!! I am so desperate for some time off...you have no clue how ragged out I am. I want to be a human being for a while.
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My graphic novels are directly behind me in my office (just for such aborted attempts at deeper conceptual things).
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My graphic novels are directly behind me in my office (just for such aborted attempts at deeper conceptual things).
Pornography helps too.
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Most pornography is officially banned by ISP in India, but people always find ways to go around that stuff.
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If you haven't read this, it's a classic, and you should. The math isn't too difficult, I think.
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Ok I will add it to the list.
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I am book shopping tomorrow. Hopefully I can find one or a few at barnes and nobles, books a million or half price books.
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some of these look like they could be out of print.
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Yeah, it's a textbook on Abstract Algebra. It starts off with monoids, groups, rings, and modules ("vector spaces" over rings instead of fields), polynomials (numbers written in base "x") fields. And then it goes into Galois theory and representation theory. And other topics, like "advanced" linear algebra and homology theory.
Think of it as a 900 page book of puzzles. If you read it and do even half of the exercises, you will be at least 11% smarter. It's a hard subject, though. Still, an old edition is only $7 at abebooks.
And yeah, the book is suitable for a graduate course in abstract algebra.
Lang's "Algebra" in Springer's Graduate Texts in Mathematics series? (It's listed at 923 pages...)
vs. his millions of other texts - e.g. "The Heat Kernel and Theta Inversion on SL2(C)" -- "I laughed, I cried! A startling commentary on the Human condition: - NYWTF Review of Books.
Filed under: Really, I want to know. I do.
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I have too many favorite books!
Try:
and
Filed under: Only just noticed they are both set in WWII. Oh well, they're both fantastic.
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One book everyone should read is called "The Mahabharata". Comic book versions are also available for those who are used to digesting fast food.
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He's going for a holiday, not going into seclusion for the rest of his life:
About 1.8 million words in total, the Mahabharata is roughly ten times the length of the Iliad and the Odyssey combined, or about four times the length of the Ramayana.
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Edit: Oh, single title. Didn't read that very well.
I think it would have to be this book:
It's just really great, pleasurable to read, writing. Some of the ideas have been used since by other authors but it doesn't diminish it. I think his other books are overrated but this one is a true gem (sorry).
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That is why I am saying to read comic book version. Perhaps Ramayana would be a better starting point. Simple Ramayana explained by great poet kalidasa in 4 lines. Here is nagesh's explanation in clear English.
King Dasharatha makes promise to wife. Wife extracts promise and sends step-son ``Rama`` away. Wife of step-son ``Sita`` and brother ``Lakshaman`` join him to stay in forest. Demon King ``Ravana`` kidnaps Sita. Ram and Lakshaman go in search of Sita. Get help from warrior monkeys, beat crap out of him and then come back to their city ``Ayodhya``. City celebrates Diwali.
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I didn't see your post before the edit, but if your other title was Snow Crash, I agree.
Filed under: this is now the Neal Stephenson thread, someone suggest Reamde
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Yeah, that's the one.
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Definitely worth checking out and as it's short stories, I'd say it's ideal holiday reading.
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Cryptonomicon is my favorite book, followed closely by this one:
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Sounds interesting. I want to add this one too.
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Ok realistically I cannot read all of these books. This is enough reading material to potentially last me a year or more (if I was a diligent reader).
Something tells me this list is just getting started.
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I want to read that book one day myself.
I listened to an audio book version of another book by the same author once and really liked it a lot:
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I listened to an audio book version of another book by the same author once and really liked it a lot: Fables for Robots
Haven't read this but will definitely look out for it.
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Lem is awesome. I also like the Futurological Congress.
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Lem is awesome.
QFT. The Pirx books and Solaris are also worth checking out.
I'll soon be in need of something to read and it's looking like a Lem now.
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Since you mentioned (and then removed) Alistair Reynolds, I just finished his Revelation Space collection. The first book (Revelation Space) is a bit hard to get into, but it sets the stage for the rest of them, and they're all worth reading (then again, they're not light reading, and as such might not be the best for summer).
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Busted. Yes, I didn't see the one-book limitation to begin with.
I love space opera and I was going to suggest what I think is one of his finest books:
There is a tiny bit of a tie in with the Revelation Space novels (Glitter Band/Rust Belt). It's the shear sense of horrifying scale and loss he gets from time dilation that makes it great for me. A bit like Haldeman's The Forever War but more personal to the reader here.
I thought Revelation Space was great but sometime just too slow in places. Chasm City I couldn't get into at all on the first attempt and I went back after reading Redemption Ark which I got on with much better.
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I'm not familiar with his work, but it looks like something I'd enjoy. Bookmarked for future reference.
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Best page I find after so many searches on comics.