What are the must -reads? What do you have to read if you are interested in computer science? Well, there are two different types of “must”:
- The must in the sense of duty . You can’t avoid specialist literature. If you want to have a say and understand the basics of computer science, then you need to read certain standard works. We are about to introduce you to the king of basic books.
- The must in the sense of reading pleasure : It would be a shame if you missed out on the excitement, the humor or the cult factor of certain books. Some of our book recommendations ensure time travel and fantasies. Do you want to understand certain references and insider sayings in computer science circles? Then check out these stories.
Our librarian Lyn-Rouven Schirra presents his personal list of the best here. He knows the specialist literature, but he also likes weird, ironic, unfathomable fiction.
With his reading tips, we also open the debate with our readers: What other must-reads do you need to know? What would be your literature tips for people interested in computer science? Please write them here at the bottom in the comment column. Because soon we will be presenting a further seven book tips in a sequel. So let’s start with part 1…
You need to know these seven books:
- The King of Standard Works : The Art of Computer Programming by Donald E. Knuth . A multi-volume work that is not yet finished. It is so comprehensive that one can hardly master it. But hey, you don’t become a computer scientist for nothing! Knuth is the inventor of the text typesetting system TeX . Incidentally, he only invented it because none of the available systems met his requirements when writing The Art of Computer Programming.Fun tip for small talk among computer science insiders: Knuth once paid a $2.56 reward for every typo or typographical error discovered in his books because “256 cents is a hexadecimal dollar.” Knuth is so revered among computer scientists that they don’t cash his checks but frame them.The book is available at Thrifitbooks.
2. The classic for fantasy and sci-fi fans : Illuminatus by Robert Shea and Robert A. Wilson . A satirical adventure story about secret societies and well-constructed conspiracy theories . Numerous word terms from the book circulate among computer scientists as allusions. Anyone who has ever wondered what the made-up word “Fnord” means will find the answer in this book.
This trilogy is said to have had a strong influence on the German hacker Karl Koch . He took the story for reality and developed paranoia. Attention: Reading is only recommended for readers who are mentally prepared and feel comfortable with anarchic science fiction.
3. Relic from pioneering times : automat and man – cybernetic facts and hypotheses, by Karl Steinbuch , published in 1961. To be honest, no one reads this book anymore. And that’s a shame! Because it gives valuable insights into the pioneering days of computer science, into a time when computer science as we know it today did not even exist. Author Karl Steinbuch is considered one of the pioneers of German computer science. He was a pioneer of machine learning and a co-founder of artificial intelligence and cybernetics . Steinbuch invented the learning matrix : This is the first technical realization of an artificial neural network (ANN).
In his work, Steinbuch also explores social, socio-critical and philosophical questions that arose in connection with the automation of modern life at the time. His book is provided with beautiful black and white illustrations of nerve cells.
The book is available at Thriftbooks.
4. Encryption for Dummies : Secret Messages – The Art of Encryption from Antiquity to the Age of the Internet, by Simon Singh .
The British science journalist and author Singh gets to the heart of complex topics in a way that is easy to understand. Thanks to his popular scientific textbook, the basic idea of cryptology and encryption technology can be understood even without a great deal of mathematics knowledge .
Singh tells the story of cryptology through historical events: from the encryptions used by the Roman statesman Caesar, through those of the Queen of Scotland, Mary Stuart, to the insights of the cryptanalyst and computer science pioneer Alan Turing .
The book is available at ThriftBooks.
5. Data design of modern times : Visualize this – The flowing data guide to design, visualization, and statistics, by Nathan Yau : A creative, colorful picture book to browse and flip through. Definitely provides good inspiration for one or the other bachelor thesis. Packed with handy data design tips from the modern-day data visualization guru.
In step-by-step instructions, Nau shows how you can collect, analyze and format data and use it to prepare high-quality graphics. How to use it to tell stories. where you can find out about new projects and ideas.
