Recommendations please

[Mike Fletcher]

I find that recommending the Lord of the Rings just doesn't work, the tale
is so involved (and long) that the casual reader (as opposed to those of us
who have already lost our minds) will tend to back off.  The limited
character set of the Hobbit gives the introductory reader a better grasp of
the fundamentals of programming without requiring a total commitment (is
that still the proper term for hospitalisation, or has political correctness
come up with a euphemism?)  Sure, the Lord of the Rings is required reading
for all full-time masochis^D^D^D^D^D^D^D^Dprogrammers (in my little fantasy
world), but I save that for after they have drawn from the cup their draught
of blood.

As to Norwegian, of course you are correct, but I'm not one to voice that
kind of opinion in the Python newsgroup, after all, the Python Mafia (aka.
the PSU) does monitor this channel (I think it's a corrupted version of the
F-bot, but rumours have indicated it might be a second generation Tim-bot
clone that was somehow perverted by the Illearth stone.) You are, indeed, a
brave, or maybe foolhardy, man, I salute your bravery, and wish you luck in
your flight from the inevitable persecution that will follow.  Possibly
you'll be able to hide in the Fjords of Slartibartfast' second earth.

Which, of course, brings up two other required texts... the "Thomas Covenant
Unbeliever" series, and, of course, the "Hitchhiker" series.  Like the Lord
of the Rings, Covenant is an advanced text, but once you've been exposed to
the mysteries, you need to take a look at the philosophy of whether these
worlds we create our real are not, and what the moral implications are of
our belief or lack thereof.  Hitchhiker is primarily useful as a source of
obscure references with which to pepper your code, it has other uses, of
course, but that's what we tend to use it for in my University of Holistic
Programming (it's really a wonderful world, the sky alternates between
purple and magenta, why don't you join me when the PSU stops chasing you? :)
)

And in the darkness
there was none to mourn the flower
The white gold wielder
mourned the whale
when indentation became the fjord
that bound them all to Python

Mike


-----Original Message-----
From: Peter Schneider-Kamp [mailto:nowonder at nowonder.de]
Sent: Monday, August 21, 2000 5:28 AM
To: python-list at python.org
Subject: Re: Recommendations please


Mike Fletcher wrote:
> 
> 8<___ request for recommendations for books for non-programmers ___
> 
> For my money, The Hobbit.  Straight-forward hero tale with enormous
amounts

I'd rather go with the Lord of the Rings. But I think that
reading it in Norwegian is a requirement. Its concepts
are easier and much more natural expressed in a language
that revolves around the term 'troll'.

thinking-about-porting-it-to-Python-though-ly y'rs
Peter
-- 
Peter Schneider-Kamp          ++47-7388-7331
Herman Krags veg 51-11        mailto:peter at schneider-kamp.de
N-7050 Trondheim              http://schneider-kamp.de

-- 
http://www.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list