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RobinZ comments on Open Thread: March 2010 - Less Wrong
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I, unfortunately, am merely an engineer with a little BASIC and MATLAB experience, but if it is computer science you are interested in, rather than coding, count this as another vote for SICP. Kernighan and Ritchie is also spoken of in reverent tones (edit: but as a manual for C, not an introductory book - see below), as is The Art of Computer Programming by Knuth.
I have physically seen these books, but not studied any of them - I'm just communicating a secondhand impression of the conventional wisdom. Weight accordingly.
Kernighan and Ritchie is a fine book, with crystal clear writing. But I tend to think of it as "C for experienced programmers", not "learn programming through C".
TAoCP is "learn computer science", which I think is rather different than learning programming. Again, a fine book, but not quite on target initially.
I've only flipped through SICP, so I have little to say.
TAoCP and SICP are probably both computer science - I recommended those particularly as being computer science books, rather than elementary programming. I'll take your word on Kernighan and Ritchie, though - put that one off until you want to learn C, then.
Merely an engineer? I've failed to acquire a leaving certificate of the lowest kind of school we have here in Germany.
Thanks for the hint at Knuth, though I already came across his work yesterday. Kernighan and Ritchie are new to me. SICP is officially on my must-read list now.
A mechanical engineering degree is barely a qualification in the field of computer programming, and not at all in the field of computer science. What little knowledge I have I acquired primarily through having a very savvy father and secondarily through recreational computer programming in BASIC et al. The programming experience is less important than the education, I wager.
Yes, of course. Misinterpreted what you said.
Do you think that somebody in your field, in the future, will get around computer programming? While talking to neuroscientists I learnt that it is almost impossible to get what you want, in time, by explaining what you need to a programmer who has no degree in neuroscience while you yourself don't know anything about computer programming.
I'm not sure what you mean - as a mechanical engineer, 99+% percent of my work involves purely classical mechanics, no relativity or quantum physics, so the amount of programming most of us have to do is very little. Once a finite-element package exists, all you need is to learn how to use it.
I've just read the abstract on Wikipedia and I assumed that it might encompass what you do.
I thought computer modeling and simulations might be very important in the early stages. Shortly following field tests with miniature models. Even there you might have to program the tools that give shape to the ultimate parts. Though I guess if you work in a highly specialized area, that is not the case.
I couldn't build a computer, a web browser, a wireless router, an Internet, or a community blog from scratch, but I can still post a comment on LessWrong from my laptop. Mechanical engineers rarely need to program the tools, they just use ANSYS or SolidWorks or whatever.
Edit: Actually, the people who work in highly specialized areas are more likely to write their own tools - the general-interest areas have commercial software already for sale.