Re:Ask HN: What's the best computer science book you've read...
by Shorel on Monday January 16, 2017 @08:23AM
(#13409800)
I don't think theory first is wrong by itself.
I think that everyone will get new information better when it is something that fixes an immediate issue or clarifies an immediate doubt.
But this is not a contradiction. Theory can be presented in such a way that you want and need to know the next piece of information, the way mystery novels work.
It can be easier for the writer to create this need with examples instead of narrative, no doubt about it.
But let's not fall in the opposite direction of having only examples and no theory, so common with blogs now. I feel empty when I read such materials.
I think that everyone will get new information better when it is something that fixes an immediate issue or clarifies an immediate doubt.
But this is not a contradiction. Theory can be presented in such a way that you want and need to know the next piece of information, the way mystery novels work.
It can be easier for the writer to create this need with examples instead of narrative, no doubt about it.
But let's not fall in the opposite direction of having only examples and no theory, so common with blogs now. I feel empty when I read such materials.