Just read the first chapter. I can't believe it. The new author is a chip off the old block. He managed to include a braid-tugging scene. Other than that, I think he did a good job. Hopefully he picks up the pace; the pacing of the first chapter was a lot like RJ, perhaps a tiny bit faster and cleaner.
What I want to know is, are they going to release it as two volumes like they threatened, or will they keep Robert Jordan's word that it will stay in one volume even if it has to run more than 1200 pages long?
A lot references and jokes in programming circles point back to those books. They do add a dimension to the programming experience. For instance, "Wintermute" comes from Neuromancer. Lots of stuff is quoted from Alice in Wonderland. "fnord" comes from Illuminatus Trilogy.
I'm developing a course for aspiring computer programmers. I've been at it on and off for the past year. The reading list is done, the course outline and coverage isn't entirely done but is shaping up. This sounds like material that should be covered. Does anyone have a good writeup or recommended book for inclusion in the course? The Programmers Stone guys sort of cover this material.
I sat down last week and installed djbdns. I thought it would be a big hairy project, like learning BIND was. Back in the day, before Slashdot existed, I used Cricket's book on BIND. Good book, but BIND is finicky and the book is THICK.
Anyhow, in a couple hours I had djbdns installed and working. I had to keep checking. I couldn't believe it was that easy. But it was. djbdns doesn't allow recursive queries or zone transfers by default. djbdns has privilege separation, just like qmail. The configuration is a breeze. The file format is very robust and easy to edit. Most knobs and configuration items can be configured by using "echo" to echo values into little files in the configuration directory.
djbdns doesn't need restarting like bind does. djbdns doesn't die and restart; you can run "svc -t/service/tinydns" and it rereads the configuration instantly and starts serving it with changing its process ID.
I wish I'd installed djbdns years ago. If not for the licensing issues, it would have taken over the world and we'd have a much safer internet. djbdns even prevents cache poisoning, an old technique for hijacking domain names.
I recommend again "Mathematics for the Million", written in 1937 by an Englishman. It will start you at the beginning. It is one of the few math books that hasn't gone out of print since it was published. That is because it is so good. Good luck!
I second that recommendation. The book was published by "Barrons" and they also came up with an "Algebra Made Easy" and "Trigonometry Made Easy" in the same series, with the same fantasy story land scenario. I also recommend a couple other books in my post which you will find below, of which one of them I recommend even higher than the "Easy Way" series, with the "Easy Way" series coming in a close second. I'm surprised more people here haven't mentioned them. Probably too "low-brow".
I saw several people here recommending tutoring, college courses, and college text books. I don't recommend any of these to begin, although they are good if you want to continue.
What I recommend here is the "low-brow" way. The easy, the "dirty" way that purists and snobs will turn up their nose at. This is equivalent to the advice of those people who give children comic books to encourage them to read. The method works, right? This will work for you too, and you'll enjoy it as much as comic books.
The key, essential text, is a book written a long time ago, called "Mathematics for the Million". It is still in print, and is excellent. It takes you from early chapters on counting from one to five, and works up through simple geometry through to algebra, logarithms, trigonometry, spherical trigonometry, calculus, and ends off with combinators and linear algebra. It is written in a great style, easy to read, but packed with information. It has lots of interesting stories and applications of the math, but not any fluff. This is the key text. It is 800 pages long, and worth every page. The price is astoundingly cheap. A chap on a desert island could rebuild much of civilization if he had this book with him. If I was on a desert island, this book would come second on my list, right after the Bible. With each chapter, it puts the mathematical developement in historical context, showing how real people developed the math out of the math that went before it, which will be fresh in your mind from the chapters you already read.
After that, you may want to work through these books: "Algebra The Easy Way", "Trigonometry The Easy Way", and "Calculus The Easy Way". In the "Easy Way" series of books, each concept is introduced in the context of a story and a practical application, as a group of people "discover" these fields of mathematics for themselves, to solve their problems. It is set in a fantasy setting with kings, queens, dragons, etc.
Finally, for inspiration, and "fun", I recommend all of the mathematics books by Martin Gardner, Ian Stewart, and A.K. Dewdney. All three of these men ran a very successful mathematical amusements and puzzles column in Scientific American. Their books are compilations of their columns. They make math interesting, showing interesting relationships between the different bits of math that we are told are "important". And they show interesting applications, puzzles, and pictures resulting from the mathematics. One Martin Gardner column that really stuck with me was the one on the "super ellipse". It has the interesting property that it looks like it should tip over, but it actually keeps itself balanced, and resists being tipped over.
As an earlier commenter said, you can't just read about math. You have to do it. You have to practice. If you are willing to practice though, the books I listed above will get you where you want to be, with a minimum of head-scratching.
Back in 2002 when John Sokol was designing the first, and still the most efficient silent computer, we discussed the ionic air cooling. I think it was Bill Drury who first mentioned it. We put it off as a possible future direction to go. It didn't seem like it would be nearly as productive a direction as the thermal ground technology John developed. Time has proven John right; his thermal plane and thermal ground patents will revolutionize the computer industry fairly soon now. As a director of Nisvara, I can't reveal more than that at this time. But if you want a silent computer with no moving parts and even lower power consumption than these "coronal discharge" guys are claiming, get in touch with John Sokol.
Slashdot Mirror
Just read the first chapter. I can't believe it. The new author is a chip off the old block. He managed to include a braid-tugging scene. Other than that, I think he did a good job. Hopefully he picks up the pace; the pacing of the first chapter was a lot like RJ, perhaps a tiny bit faster and cleaner.
What I want to know is, are they going to release it as two volumes like they threatened, or will they keep Robert Jordan's word that it will stay in one volume even if it has to run more than 1200 pages long?
A lot references and jokes in programming circles point back to those books. They do add a dimension to the programming experience. For instance, "Wintermute" comes from Neuromancer. Lots of stuff is quoted from Alice in Wonderland. "fnord" comes from Illuminatus Trilogy.
I'm developing a course for aspiring computer programmers. I've been at it on and off for the past year. The reading list is done, the course outline and coverage isn't entirely done but is shaping up. This sounds like material that should be covered. Does anyone have a good writeup or recommended book for inclusion in the course? The Programmers Stone guys sort of cover this material.
You can see the course here:
From Beginner to Master A Computer Programmer's Reading Course So, you want to be a computer programmer?
I've been a programmer for fifteen years. Here is my list: http://reactor-core.org/programmer-syllabus.html Some of the books are hard to find. Ted
I sat down last week and installed djbdns. I thought it would be a big hairy project, like learning BIND was. Back in the day, before Slashdot existed, I used Cricket's book on BIND. Good book, but BIND is finicky and the book is THICK.
Anyhow, in a couple hours I had djbdns installed and working. I had to keep checking. I couldn't believe it was that easy. But it was. djbdns doesn't allow recursive queries or zone transfers by default. djbdns has privilege separation, just like qmail. The configuration is a breeze. The file format is very robust and easy to edit. Most knobs and configuration items can be configured by using "echo" to echo values into little files in the configuration directory.
djbdns doesn't need restarting like bind does. djbdns doesn't die and restart; you can run "svc -t /service/tinydns" and it rereads the configuration instantly and starts serving it with changing its process ID.
I wish I'd installed djbdns years ago. If not for the licensing issues, it would have taken over the world and we'd have a much safer internet. djbdns even prevents cache poisoning, an old technique for hijacking domain names.
I recommend again "Mathematics for the Million", written in 1937 by an Englishman. It will start you at the beginning. It is one of the few math books that hasn't gone out of print since it was published. That is because it is so good. Good luck!
I second that recommendation. The book was published by "Barrons" and they also came up with an "Algebra Made Easy" and "Trigonometry Made Easy" in the same series, with the same fantasy story land scenario. I also recommend a couple other books in my post which you will find below, of which one of them I recommend even higher than the "Easy Way" series, with the "Easy Way" series coming in a close second. I'm surprised more people here haven't mentioned them. Probably too "low-brow".
I saw several people here recommending tutoring, college courses, and college text books. I don't recommend any of these to begin, although they are good if you want to continue.
What I recommend here is the "low-brow" way. The easy, the "dirty" way that purists and snobs will turn up their nose at. This is equivalent to the advice of those people who give children comic books to encourage them to read. The method works, right? This will work for you too, and you'll enjoy it as much as comic books.
The key, essential text, is a book written a long time ago, called "Mathematics for the Million". It is still in print, and is excellent. It takes you from early chapters on counting from one to five, and works up through simple geometry through to algebra, logarithms, trigonometry, spherical trigonometry, calculus, and ends off with combinators and linear algebra. It is written in a great style, easy to read, but packed with information. It has lots of interesting stories and applications of the math, but not any fluff. This is the key text. It is 800 pages long, and worth every page. The price is astoundingly cheap. A chap on a desert island could rebuild much of civilization if he had this book with him. If I was on a desert island, this book would come second on my list, right after the Bible. With each chapter, it puts the mathematical developement in historical context, showing how real people developed the math out of the math that went before it, which will be fresh in your mind from the chapters you already read.
After that, you may want to work through these books: "Algebra The Easy Way", "Trigonometry The Easy Way", and "Calculus The Easy Way". In the "Easy Way" series of books, each concept is introduced in the context of a story and a practical application, as a group of people "discover" these fields of mathematics for themselves, to solve their problems. It is set in a fantasy setting with kings, queens, dragons, etc.
Finally, for inspiration, and "fun", I recommend all of the mathematics books by Martin Gardner, Ian Stewart, and A.K. Dewdney. All three of these men ran a very successful mathematical amusements and puzzles column in Scientific American. Their books are compilations of their columns. They make math interesting, showing interesting relationships between the different bits of math that we are told are "important". And they show interesting applications, puzzles, and pictures resulting from the mathematics. One Martin Gardner column that really stuck with me was the one on the "super ellipse". It has the interesting property that it looks like it should tip over, but it actually keeps itself balanced, and resists being tipped over.
As an earlier commenter said, you can't just read about math. You have to do it. You have to practice. If you are willing to practice though, the books I listed above will get you where you want to be, with a minimum of head-scratching.
Good Luck!
Back in 2002 when John Sokol was designing the first, and still the most efficient silent computer, we discussed the ionic air cooling. I think it was Bill Drury who first mentioned it. We put it off as a possible future direction to go. It didn't seem like it would be nearly as productive a direction as the thermal ground technology John developed. Time has proven John right; his thermal plane and thermal ground patents will revolutionize the computer industry fairly soon now. As a director of Nisvara, I can't reveal more than that at this time. But if you want a silent computer with no moving parts and even lower power consumption than these "coronal discharge" guys are claiming, get in touch with John Sokol.