Ask HN: The Primers on different subjects | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: The Primers on different subjects

36 pointsmorphir15 comments

While studying Computer Science I've collected a set of different primer CS books. SICP is however considered to be the book among CS students (I agree with that). But as a curious guy who enjoy to be stimulated intellectually - I would love to know the primers/classics in the following subjects:

- Architecture - Philosophy - Psychology - Medicine - Physics

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There was a metafilter thread a while back that asked a similar question. Here's a summary of the books listed (with a link to the original thread):

http://www.septivium.com/b/2009/05/07/mefi/

Ironically, I have a Ph.D. in Physics, so I will have trouble recommending a decent primer. ;)

You can't go wrong with Feynman's stuff. But his Lectures really are notorious for being the books that physics grad student wish were the standard primers, rather than books that are known to be easy for beginners to learn from. On the other hand, if you're gonna get lost, getting lost with Feynman is always more fun.

I've had good luck so far with the Very Short Introduction series -- specifically, the one on quantum mechanics didn't offend me too much, which says a lot. (Once you've actually learned a bit of real quantum mechanics the popular treatments will tend to drive you to drink.)

http://www.amazon.com/Quantum-Theory-Short-Introduction-Intr...

If you're looking for intellectual stimulation I wouldn't go toward medicine, per se. For practical medical skills I've been thinking of dabbling in first aid and EMS classes, but for intellectual stuff what you really want is biology and chemistry. I think it's been long enough since I last plugged Molecular Biology Made Simple and Fun on HN, so let me recommend it again:

http://www.amazon.com/Molecular-Biology-Made-Simple-Third/dp...

It's corny but the science is solid, and it is so much lighter, more readable, and cheaper than The Molecular Biology of the Cell, which is a classic text and a book that I still intend to read someday, by god, whenever I have something like three entire months of spare time and a very solidly designed reading desk. [1]

Incidentally, have you looked at the online courses you can get for free these days? The other day on MIT Open Courseware I found an intro biology course taught by none other than Bob Weinberg and Eric Lander:

http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Biology/7-012Fall-2004/CourseHome/...

It's a bit tricky to listen to in the car, or even to watch, as the slides for this particular class are hard to see and some of the topics are necessarily visual. But, still, these guys are star professors for a reason.

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[1] Or when the Kindle version comes out. MBoC is a book designed for that big Kindle. If I tried to read the print version in bed I'd probably crush myself to death.

The Feynman lectures on physics is great:

http://www.feynmanlectures.info/

A really enjoyable read is Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman. It chronicles some of the interesting bits of his life and he led a very interesting life at that. (Worked on the bomb, Did a lot of his research in strip clubs, Lockpicking the file cabinets where they held the top secret info on the bomb just to show them that the security was poor, etc...)

For philosophy, I recommend A History of Western Philosophy by W. T. Jones. It's a good overview, providing both extensive quotes from primary sources and good summary/analysis of the material.

A little less sure for physics, but The Feynman Lectures are classics.

Another vote for The Feynman Lectures on Physics. Probably the closest thing to "the" textbook on physics out there.

The Feynman lectures are notorious for being very popular among readers who already understand the physics, but difficult for those learning the physics for the first time.

I doubt anyone will have trouble finding it, but A History of Western Philosophy is actually by Bertrand Russell.

With regards to physics in particular (my specialty), I think it's important to understand what part of physics you want to learn, and in what depth.

If you want a good, basic introduction to mechanics and E&M, I would point you towards Serway. The problem is that Serway is a very basic book, and not really written like physicists think.

A step up from Serway is The Mechanical Universe.

The best intro physics book on E&M for physicists is Purcell.

The Feynman Lectures are great, but you have to be willing to devote serious time and effort to studying them. Especially if you're new to physics, and thinking like a physicist.

If you want another step up past the Feynman lectures, and you're willing to devote a serious amount of time to it, the Landau and Lifshitz series is incredible, though very advanced. If you can make it through all of those, you're among a rare group indeed.

Perhaps Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond would be a good book to pick up.

Although it doesn't directly apply to any of the subjects you listed, I think that knowing a bit about world history is a good way to make connections in the philosophies of different areas.

Don't. Read the 10,000 Year Explosion instead[1]. Criticism of Diamond [2].

[1]http://the10000yearexplosion.com/ [2]http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2005/08/03/ggs

Actually, read both. The contradiction shows how history isn't some dead thing set in stone, but a field created by people with ever-changing (often clashing and very ideological) interpretations of the past, alternating with attempts to tie those elaborate interpretations to the evidence available. (And sometimes, new evidence shakes it up...)

_The Past is a Foreign Country_ by David Lowenthal is a decent book about how historians interpret and rediscover the past. Really, though - read quite a bit, read primary documents, read attempts to synthesize them, and try to draw your own conclusions. I'm not sure I'd recommend any book in particular. (Also, history is often the most interesting when you get really specific. I'm particularly geeked about the history of medicine, but that's me.)

For architecture I found 'A History of Architecture' by Bannister Fletcher to be a good start, but my copy is very old (1943 edition) - so try elsewhere if you want to include modernism from the outset. I'm told it's a classic.

Re Architecture - Herman Hertzberger's Lessons for Students in Architecture teaches you how to see/think as an architect does. Was the most important book I read in arch. school. It's a very personal, and generous, tour through the buildings that have been most influential to him; he points out specific moments and moves in these buildings. It's brass tacks. http://www.amazon.com/Herman-Hertzberger-Lessons-Students-Ar...

And another vote for Pattern Language. Take it out of the library just to see how the thing is written, won't take long to see why software folk cite it.

great post morphir, thanks -

The Timeless Way of Building (and A Pattern Language) by Christopher Alexander is a great architecture book that was influential in computer science. Interdisciplinary books like this are a great way to connect the dots.

"How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They're Built" by Stewart Brand. I've given away at least five as gifts.

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