SICP is So Good

2013-10-04

All shutdown and no work makes Graham a dull boy

I’ve been reading SICP recently in my quest to extend my Computer Science knowledge. This is a task I’ve attempted before but never really had the time to devote a solid chunk of brain-power to. However, due to recent events, I find myself with more time on my hands than usual.1

SICP to the rescue

This post will be short, but I imagine I’ll write another sometime soon as I work through this amazing book. Of course I’m not the only one who thinks so, but SICP is a good book. I mean, it’s a really good book. Within the first chapter, you’ve already used the Fibonacci numbers, primality testing, Newton’s Method, fixed-points and average damping, and continued fractions to explore the benefits of having functions as first class citizens. This book is amazing. I suppose that part of what makes it so good is its use of Scheme as its programming language; this leads to a minimal barrier between expressing the ideas and executing them. Even with that said, I’m still in awe of how good this book is.

Case In Point

As a case in point, I’ll include a quick write up I did to share with my Dad and his high school students.2 It was inspired by SICP’s handling of an interesting continued fraction.

  1. It’s not all SICP all the time for me; I have to tackle a truly impressive list of chores as well. ↩︎

  2. I really need to get back to work. ↩︎