Re:Ask HN: Is Knuth's TAOCP worth the time and effort? (2023)
by svat on Tuesday November 28, 2023 @07:29AM
(#38444988)
Yeah good point, the reason for the strange comparison is that I started to write “I wish I could make more time for [TAOCP]” and was immediately forced to confront my time spent on social media/HN, so I did. :)
There is also a contrast between the two: they lie on opposite ends of a spectrum from shallow to deep, of things that make you really think / put in honest effort, and also give a deeper enjoyment.
As for reading other (good) books: like anything else, it's ultimately a question of what gives you most joy, I guess. Learning (say) real analysis from Rudin would also be deep and make you work, but Knuth has more jokes.
There is also a contrast between the two: they lie on opposite ends of a spectrum from shallow to deep, of things that make you really think / put in honest effort, and also give a deeper enjoyment.
As for reading other (good) books: like anything else, it's ultimately a question of what gives you most joy, I guess. Learning (say) real analysis from Rudin would also be deep and make you work, but Knuth has more jokes.