[Edu-sig] Knuth's books.

[Arthur]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: edu-sig-bounces at python.org [mailto:edu-sig-bounces at python.org] On
> Behalf Of Scott David Daniels
> 
> I suggested them to you (rather than generally to students) because
> you said you felt:
> 
>     My own experience is more toward the learning to program to learn -
>     in my case - mathematical ideas. But ultimately, to get to where I
>     want to get, I realize that "basic computational skills" are not
>     sufficient - that I need to get somewhat beyond the basics.
> 
> Knuth was a mathematician by training, and quite a good one at that.
> Concrete Mathematics is a math book built with an eye to the kind of
> math that you need the deeper you get into CS. 

I certainly think the reference to Knuth, directed to me, is right on point
in a number of respects.  Besides being a mathematician, I would say his
body of work meets my own perceived needs as a student - looking for the
best resources to help me learn how to *program*, not those more relevant to
learning "how to program" (sorry I can't think of a better way of saying
that).

And certainly I would have loved to have had his books in hand to browse at
my book store visit, and certainly if I found them (as I would have
expected) they *would* have been browsed. 

I have been waiting for an effort at Knuth to meet one further criteria of
the Naïve Programmer - solving a problem I actually have.

And it happens I have recently concluded that is exactly where I am.  Having
a short term goal of exploring Kleinian Groups, in code - ala the ideas (and
wonderful graphics) presented in the book Indra's Pearl

http://www.ms.unimelb.edu.au/~pnorbury/colloquium/series.html

My early efforts have led me to the conclusion that the understanding of
algorithmic ideas that are necessary to get there (and that would be part of
a CS curriculum) will remain beyond my reach without some more formal study
of the area. 

What will probably not be realistic is the whole nine yards of Knuth - as
much as I suspect I would appreciate that effort if there were not
constraints on the time I can give to this.

But some Knuth seems definitely to be destined for me in the near future.
Because I not only want to get at Kleinian Groups in code, I am sufficiently
obsessed with the idea of doing so.

Art