The idea factory

What Hacker News says

1. 2143Aug 2023
   > Not getting very much out of Anna Karenina, supposedly one of the aesthetic and emotional heights of human expression and experience, doesn’t feel great.

   Incidentally, I have very recently stalled a second time on Anna Karenina, generally considered to be a masterpiece.

   I'll probably revisit it later, but it's just not for me at the moment.

   Also, The Idea Factory by Pepper White doesn't seem to be very popular (or maybe it is?). I first read it when I was in college and loved it. Re-read it in grad-school and I loved it even more. I think it was because I was in grad-school and could empathize with the main character.

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2. 2143Aug 2023
   The Idea Factory by Pepper White.
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3. 2143Sep 2022
   The Idea Factory, by Pepper White.

   First read when I was an undergrad. Then multiple times during grad school. Hit a raw nerve somewhere.

   (There's another book with the same title, so note the author).

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4. 2143Jul 2022
   Some older books might be useful, though I'm not sure how useful older python books might be.

   Since you're a librarian, may I suggest some books you might want to consider keeping (not all of these are programming books per se):

   Designing Data Intensive Applications, by Martin Kleppmann

   K&R for C

   K&R The Practice of Programming

   The Art of Unix Programming, by Eric S. Raymond

   The Cathedral and the Bazaar, by Eric S. Raymond

   Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software, by Charles Petzold

   The Soul of a New Machine, by Tracy Kidder

   The Idea Factory, by Pepper White

   The Little Schemer, by Friedman and Felleisen

   SICP, by Sussman and Abelson

   Introduction to Algorithms, CLRS

   The Algorithm Design Manual, by Steven

   Introduction to the Theory of Computation, by Michael Sipser

   The "dinosaur book", "dragon book" etc.

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5. tjrAug 2015
   The Idea Factory, by Pepper White
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6. AnechoicMar 2015
   This article perfectly summed up my experience at MIT.

   As the article hints, the competitive nature of the student body is a double-edged sword - it helps push you further than you think you're capable of, but it can also push you beyond your breaking point. In a lot of cases, it's a fine line.

   To any MIT students reading this:

   1) You deserve to be there. Really.

   2) You are not alone (read Pepper White's "The Idea Factory" if you don't believe me).

   3) Asking for help is not a sign of weakness. It's a sign of strength.

   4) Failing is not the end of the world.

   5) Unless you are going to war or face a diagnosis of a terminal disease, everything else after MIT is easy. It gets better.

   Please take care of yourselves. Take a break, decompress, have a little fun. The world is a better place with you all in it.

   RIP Fes-Mike http://tech.mit.edu/V113/N3/martinez.03o.html

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