Books that Changed Your Life?

Pubb asks: "I'm a Computer Science teacher at a school with an interesting tradition. Every year, the graduating student who has performed best in a particular subject area is given a book prize. Rather than give this particular student the usual book on Java or Linux, I would like to get something more impactful. I ask you, fellow Slashdot readers, to name the books that helped unleash your geek within. All I ask is that the book be reasonably available, even if it is no longer in print."

Comments

The Picture of Dorian Gray

[contrasutra]

I know this isn't exactly computer based, but this is one of the many books that changed my life. Wilde discusses what it is like to be different, the meaning of sin, and how evil it is to be shallow. I think the last point is the most important. I consider geeks to be generally pretty deep people who care about rights, the world, etc. It's hard fighting this sometimes, and Dorian Gray gives a great representation of the "other side" (the shallow elite).

It also gives Wilde's brilliant opinions on what the meaning of Art is. Basically, in a time when so many people are asking "Why are we here", Wilde gives an answer. Obviously you may not agree with him later, but damned if you don't believe while reading it.

It's hard to explain Wilde's writing in a short comment. His writing is full, beautiful, and has endless amounts of wit. It is the perfect "life changer" for a geek.

Just a couple of quotes from Dorian Gray(taken from Wikipedia):

"Now, the value of an idea has nothing whatsoever to do with the sincerity of the man who expresses it. Indeed, the probabilities are that the more insincere the man is, the more purely intellectual will the idea be, as in that case it will not be coloured by either his wants, his desires, or his prejudices."

"To get back my youth I would do anything in the world, except take exercise, get up early, or be respectable."

This is a hard topic for me, as I'm an avid reader, I could come up with 20 books off the topic of my head to suggest.

Re:For Serious Amatures Only!

[wayne606]

GEB is not a book for anybody with a technical college education. I don't think I could manage to read it again myself after a PhD in CS. I did read it when I was 16, though, and I thought it was the most amazing thing I ever read, and it convinced me I wanted to study math and CS in college.

So I agree with your last sentence, I guess. There is a place for "inspirational" technical books like GEB and to say "just read Knuth instead" is missing the point by a mile.

Theaetetus

[CiceroLove]

by Plato. A discussion of the nature of knowledge and the ways in which we know what we know. This book has proven to be absolutely indispensable for my work as a programmer. Rigorous mental discipline with an eye toward tearing down what we think we know to understand how to know is not only good practice for designing applications but also for life in general. I give it to all my student-aged friends.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, by Jules Verne

[dpilot]

I was just at the end of second grade, and *really* into submarines. My neighbor was two years older than me, and made fun of me for getting "little kids' two-page books" when we went to the bookmobile. So early that Summer, I got another age-appropriate book about submarines, but I also got 20,000 Leagues. It took me most of the Summer and several renewals, but I was determined to read that book. To be honest, quite a bit of it zoomed over my head, too. But I read the whole thing.

A good lesson in stick-to-it-ivness, and it helped launch my life-long interest in Science Fiction, which helped launch my interest and career in technology, as an engineer.

As a bad side-effect, I never looked at any of the many 20,000 Leagues movies quite the same, after that book, since none I've seen were truly faithful. (Most tried to hint at nuclear power, instead of really good batteries, etc.)

I really ought to reread the book, some time. For all the books I've read and re-read, I've never re-read that one.

Re:Zen, Gita, C, Forth

[jhoger]

I'm not sure I want to dissect it too much... for those who haven't, read it, grok it, you'll find out why you read it later (you might try reading after fasting, then right after reading it, watch Groundhog's Day... don't ask, just do).

One aspect is that of Right Action. The Gita teaches us to follow the path of Right Action without Desire for the particular end. This has direct applications in engineering. Why must I spend my time testing and documenting? I hate it it's boring. Don't desire for the testing and documentation phase to end. Just do what you're supposed to do.

When you look across the battle lines and see your QA and Management families lined up, and you understand that you must put them through extensive pain in the war we call a Release, don't worry about it. Just do what you are Supposed to do.

Sorry if this sounds a little metaphysical. It is also probably Wrong in some ways. But grok it anyway I promise it will help.

Re:Godel, Escher, Bach

[Mr. Slippery]

For "books that changed my life", I'd recommend instead The Mind's I by Hofstadter and Dennett. It was used as the text for the philosophy class I took my freshman year in college; I can still remember the day when, bored at my part-time campus job, I flipped through it to find Smullyan's Is God a Taoist? , which forever cleared up for me the whole question of free will versus determinism:

Mortal: Anyway, it is reassuring to know that my natural intuition about having free will is correct. Sometimes I have been worried that determinists are correct.

God: They are correct.

Mortal: Wait a minute now, do I have free will or don't I?

God: I already told you you do. But that does not mean that determinism is incorrect.

Mortal: Well, are my acts determined by the laws of nature or aren't they?

God: The word determined here is subtly but powerfully misleading and has contributed so much to the confusions of the free will versus determinism controversies. Your acts are certainly in accordance with the laws of nature, but to say they are determined by the laws of nature creates a totally misleading psychological image which is that your will could somehow be in conflict with the laws of nature and that the latter is somehow more powerful than you, and could "determine" your acts whether you liked it or not. But it is simply impossible for your will to ever conflict with natural law. You and natural law are really one and the same.

Mortal: What do you mean that I cannot conflict with nature? Suppose I were to become very stubborn, and I determined not to obey the laws of nature. What could stop me? If I became sufficiently stubborn even you could not stop me!

God: You are absolutely right! I certainly could not stop you. Nothing could stop you. But there is no need to stop you, because you could not even start! As Goethe very beautifully expressed it, "In trying to oppose Nature, we are, in the very process of doing so, acting according to the laws of nature!" Don't you see that the so-called "laws of nature" are nothing more than a description of how in fact you and other beings do act? They are merely a description of how you act, not a prescription of of how you should act, not a power or force which compels or determines your acts. To be valid a law of nature must take into account how in fact you do act, or, if you like, how you choose to act.

Mortal: So you really claim that I am incapable of determining to act against natural law?

God: It is interesting that you have twice now used the phrase "determined to act" instead of "chosen to act." This identification is quite common. Often one uses the statement "I am determined to do this" synonymously with "I have chosen to do this." This very psychological identification should reveal that determinism and choice are much closer than they might appear. Of course, you might well say that the doctrine of free will says that it is you who are doing the determining, whereas the doctrine of determinism appears to say that your acts are determined by something apparently outside you. But the confusion is largely caused by your bifurcation of reality into the "you" and the "not you." Really now, just where do you leave off and the rest of the universe begin? Or where does the rest of the universe leave off and you begin? Once you can see the so-called "you" and the so-called "nature" as a continuous whole, then you can never again be bothered by such questions as whether it is you who are controlling nature or nature who is controlling you. Thus the muddle of free will versus determinism will vanish.

Re:Godel, Escher, Bach

[BobTheJanitor]

You might also consider Metamagical Themas (Amazon, Alibris), also by Hofstadter. I took Intro to CS I & II at Grinnell College while in high school, and my first professor gave it to me as a high school graduation present.

I would say without a doubt that it has had a profound effect on the way I think about programming and CS as a whole. It's about CS only as much as it is about logic, math, puzzles, reasoning, music, philosophy, and life. It's one of the most well-worn books in my library, and reading it always renews my passion to learn, to explore, to see CS as a road that's worth exploring, not as just a quick way to get from point A to point B.