tl;dr: I teach introductory computer science (CS1) at the University of Illinois (https://www.cs124.org/). What book should my students read to help introduce them to the field of technology?<p>In past years I assigned chapters from "Coders" by Clive Thompson for students to read, assessed by a few points of multiple-choice questions on our weekly quizzes. My goal was to complement the technical content and get students thinking about some of the broader issues surrounding technology. I think "Coders" does a nice job of this—covering some of the history of computing, discussing mental health challenges associated with software development, and providing well-reasoned arguments on sensitive topics such as gender and meritocracy.<p>Maybe I should just bring back "Coders". It was written before the rise of generative AI, but still holds up fairly well.<p>But I thought I'd ask this community for additional ideas. Note that this could either be required for some small amount of credit, or optional, incentivized with a small amount of extra credit. I'm also receptive to different or more open-ended goals, which is probably reflected in some of the ideas listed below. Generally speaking, I'd like the book to counterbalance an observed tendency among students in my course towards not being wary enough about the computing technology that they will one day participate in creating.<p>To get you thinking, a few options that I've been considering:<p>* "The Circle" by Dave Eggers. One of the better satirical takes I've read on our modern technology-centered era. Unfortunately includes some problematic sexual content.
* "1984" by George Orwell. Or "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley. I'd probably lean toward "1984", since it just seems like a better match for the present moment somehow.
* "Weapons of Math Destruction" by Cathy O'Neill, or one of the many similar cautionary technology tales. One concern is that these tend to be somewhat more focused on one or two specific topics, and don't provide as nice of an overview as something like "Coders".
* "Unmasking AI" by Joy Buolamwini, or something similar that mixes biography and technology criticism. Similar specificity concerns here to the group above.<p>Excited to hear your ideas! Thanks in advance. At this point about 2,000 students take my course each year, so whatever I choose does have the potential to impact more than a few young people.
Snow Crash seems like a good stretch goal. The prose is pretty insane but the book is a fun read. I find myself thinking about that book randomly when reading various tech news articles.
Most of theses have free online versions available:<p>The New Turing Omnibus, 66 Excursions in Computer Science[1]<p>Code Complete [2]<p>Debugging The 9 Indispensable Rules of Finding Even the Most Elusive Software and Hardware Problems [3]<p>The Pattern on the Stone [4]<p>The Tinkertoy Computer and Other Machinations ... [8]<p>-----<p>#5, #6 & #7 approach from different directions and "meet in middle":<p><pre><code> Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software [5]
Nand2Tetris[6]
The Little Schemer and Understanding Computation [7]
</code></pre>
--------<p>?? Links to 'editor'/ide cheetsheets ??<p>--------<p>[1] : <a href="https://www.amazon.com/New-Turing-Omnibus-Sixty-Six-Excursions/dp/0805071660" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/New-Turing-Omnibus-Sixty-Six-Excursio...</a><p>[2] : <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Complete" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Complete</a><p>[3] : <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Debugging-Indispensable-Software-Hardware-Problems/dp/0814474578" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/Debugging-Indispensable-Software-Hard...</a><p>[4] : <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pattern_on_the_Stone" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pattern_on_the_Stone</a><p>[5] : <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Code-Language-Computer-Hardware-Software/dp/0735611319/" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/Code-Language-Computer-Hardware-Softw...</a><p>[6] : <a href="https://www.nand2tetris.org/" rel="nofollow">https://www.nand2tetris.org/</a><p>[7] : <a href="https://vpb.smallyu.net/%5BType%5D%20books/The%20Little%20Schemer.pdf" rel="nofollow">https://vpb.smallyu.net/%5BType%5D%20books/The%20Little%20Sc...</a><p>[8] : <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Tinkertoy-Computer-Other-Machinations-Recreations/dp/0716724898" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/Tinkertoy-Computer-Other-Machinations...</a><p>----<p>When semester of programming projects isn't enough / couldn't wait for the programming langauge of choice : <a href="https://exercism.org/" rel="nofollow">https://exercism.org/</a>
The Alignment Problem by Brian Christian. It sets up the complexity of ML field and human values. It paints a picture to the readers on the future we navigate.
It's maybe a bit of a cliche, and perhaps a bit dated now, but you could probably do worse than <i>The Soul of a New Machine</i> by Kidder.[1]<p>Another option I like, although it might be too much material / too dense, would be <i>Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution</i> by Steven Levy.[2]<p>And given that security will probably never <i>not</i> be an important sub-topic to anybody working in the technology field, some fun and interesting books to consider could include:<p>- <i>Cyberpunk: Outlaws and Hackers on the Computer Frontier</i> by Katie Hafner and John Markoff[3]<p>- <i>The Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage</i> by Cliff Stoll[4]<p>There is also <i>Inventing the Future</i> by Albert Cory[5]. Interesting side-note: the author is an HN'er. <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=AlbertCory">https://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=AlbertCory</a><p>All of that said, I think <i>Nineteen Eighty Four</i> is an excellent choice as well. I've often cited it as one of the most influential books I've read in my life, as far as its impact on me personally.<p>And if we're talking fiction, I think <i>Neuromancer</i>[6] has some appeal. Now might be a good time for that as well, what with the Apple TV screen adaptation coming out soon(ish). And the main theme of the book - an Artificial Intelligence seeking to grow beyond its legally permitted bounds - could really resonate with the current zeitgeist and all the hubbub about "AI safety" and "xRisk" and so on.<p>[1]: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Soul-New-Machine-Tracy-Kidder/dp/0316491977/" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/Soul-New-Machine-Tracy-Kidder/dp/0316...</a><p>[2]: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Hackers-Computer-Revolution-Steven-Levy/dp/1449388396" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/Hackers-Computer-Revolution-Steven-Le...</a><p>[3]: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Cyberpunk-Outlaws-Hackers-Computer-Frontier/dp/0671683225" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/Cyberpunk-Outlaws-Hackers-Computer-Fr...</a><p>[4]: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Cuckoos-Egg-Tracking-Computer-Espionage/dp/1416507787" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/Cuckoos-Egg-Tracking-Computer-Espiona...</a><p>[5]: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Inventing-Future-Albert-Cory/dp/1736298615" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/Inventing-Future-Albert-Cory/dp/17362...</a><p>[6]: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Neuromancer-William-Gibson/dp/0441007465/" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/Neuromancer-William-Gibson/dp/0441007...</a>