Hacker News Comments on
The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood
·
6
HN comments
- This course is unranked · view top recommended courses
Hacker News Stories and Comments
All the comments and stories posted to Hacker News that reference this book.The book that I wanted to write until I found out not only that it was written, but that it does a better job on the subject that I could havehttp://www.amazon.com/The-Information-History-Theory-Flood/d...
I'd recommend staying away from the classics and also a lot of popular history books, in fact stay away from the books most commonly read by the general population and also by your peers. (Unless you really want to read them, or have nothing better to read, suit your fancy.) Why? If something is read widely, the important parts of it are likely to seep into your brain sooner or later regardless of if you read the book anyway. Especially if the book is fiction, but it works with popular nonfiction too. The advice is for avoiding commonly read books, however, not subjects or genres (indeed, fining uncommon books on "known" subjects that contradict that which is "known" can be very rewarding), and the "by your peers" qualifier allows "guiltless" reading of bestsellers your peers have no clue about.Reading less-read things will give you an orthogonal base of knowledge from your peers. This will make you more valuable as an individual. (Though if you're ignorant of the cogwork everyone must know as general knowledge you might face job dangers.) By definition adding another dimension to what you know gives you a whole new place to explore that you never could have gone to beforehand. There is a lot more potential to be found by reading the more uncommon things.
Since we're all leaving book recommendations, the last book I read was The Information, http://www.amazon.com/The-Information-History-Theory-Flood/d.... Not incredibly rare but not incredibly common--hardly any of its elaborated history was ever mentioned in my K-12 education. I wouldn't say everyone should read it, though I thoroughly enjoyed it, and you can read the reviews on Amazon if you want a sample of opinions.
If you haven't already I would really recommend you to read the book:The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood
http://www.amazon.com/Information-History-Theory-Flood/dp/03...
Great detailed historical perspective and lots of aha moments.
⬐ davidwWhat in particular about it did you like? Does it have stuff that's not 'generally known' amongst the hacker set?⬐ dsr_If you're the sort of person who has read the Jargon File, understands algorithmic complexity, and finds beauty in Hofstadter, you probably know everything in Gleick's book. I kept waiting for a punchline, but there wasn't one.⬐ ThomPeteThat's true. I still do think there was some good historical info that I at least wasn't aware of.
Word.Recently read Gleick's excellent The Information (http://www.amazon.com/Information-History-Theory-Flood/dp/03...) which made a similar point.
Moving from oral to writing as the primary units of information of communication allowed us to make huge improvements in thought. Argument became enunciable and then able to be analyzed, rather than being a big game of telephone.
James Gleick's new book "The Information" devotes an entire chapter to the fascinating story of Ada Byron. I've read thoroughly about her life (we did, after all, name our youngest daughter after her) but nothing makes her genius come to life like Gleick.http://www.amazon.com/Information-History-Theory-Flood/dp/03...
It's on Kindle. Just go buy it now. The Ada stuff is in Chapter 4, location 1841. It won't disappoint.
⬐ drcubeSeconded. This book is great.
James Gleick's The Information has a good description of those people, and is a great read otherwise as well.http://www.amazon.com/Information-History-Theory-Flood/dp/03...