[HN Gopher] Ask HN: Books that teach you logic building skills
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       Ask HN: Books that teach you logic building skills
        
       Looking for a book/textbook that teaches you a logic building
       skills through real-projects for fresher programmers.
        
       Author : hungle9
       Score  : 61 points
       Date   : 2021-09-12 13:29 UTC (9 hours ago)
        
       | asimpletune wrote:
       | The Little Schemer is fantastic
        
         | cpach wrote:
         | I second this.
         | 
         | There are also more advanced titles in the same series.
        
       | wallscratch wrote:
       | Check the art of problem solving contest books, or project euler.
       | I honestly think the best way to build logical reasoning skills
       | is through real math or cs challenges, rather than some
       | artificially constructed logical reasoning tasks.
        
       | NotPavlovsDog wrote:
       | Take Claude E. Shannon's Master's thesis, the long version.
       | Considered by many the most important Master's thesis of last
       | century. It fully introduced the concept of binary / Boolean
       | logic to design of electronic circuits. If you understand the
       | core premise of his work, you understand the core of computers.
       | If you can apply his work, you can design computers.
       | 
       | Thesis:
       | 
       | https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/11173
       | https://www.cs.virginia.edu/~evans/greatworks/shannon38.pdf
       | 
       | Go through the theory in the thesis with pen and paper, use the
       | references as needed. Thesis, article on it by Shannon and lots
       | of commentary available freely online. He provided a number of
       | practical applications, with breakdown.
       | 
       | Here is the core question you need to answer to understand logic
       | in computers: what can you do with just yes and no, represented
       | as 1 and 0?
       | 
       | Why were these numbers reversed in Shannon's thesis?
       | 
       | In his thesis, 1+1=1. Why? If you understand postulates, it makes
       | sense for the kind of theory he is developing. If not, you should
       | be very excited: mathematical theory, unlike how it is presented
       | in bad schools, is not about following rules someone has decided
       | on. It is about making sense in accordance with the logic you
       | decide upon! This is as close as you can get to real magic, magic
       | you can prove and make manifest in reality. Contemplate this
       | deeply.
       | 
       | What kind of information can you transmit with a lamp and a
       | switch, turning the lamp on and off? (Tip: this is the whole idea
       | behind how the super-modern fiber-optic cables are transmitting
       | information today, with lights blinking on and off, real fast,
       | from one end to the other. Poetically, they are the core of the
       | Internet).
       | 
       | Following the hyperlinks and looking up what you need should
       | provide all the information required and more.
       | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Symbolic_Analysis_of_Relay_a...
        
       | crobertsbmw wrote:
       | I actually just wrote one. Check out Computer engineering for
       | babies. (https://computerengineeringforbabies.com)
        
       | webmaven wrote:
       | The Game of Logic by Lewis Carroll
        
       | AlexCoventry wrote:
       | It sounds like you're looking for a book which will help a novice
       | programmer develop logic skills through programming projects. Is
       | that correct?
        
       | isaac21259 wrote:
       | Not exactly what you asked for but I would highly recommend "To
       | mock a Mockingbird".
        
       | swayson wrote:
       | Not a book, but I found the logic courses on brilliant.org to
       | really stretch the brain muscle
       | 
       | https://brilliant.org/courses/logic-deduction/
        
         | BossingAround wrote:
         | Interesting. How do you find Brilliant in general? Is it worth
         | paying for? Seems a bit surface-level from a quick glance, but
         | I'm sure it's possible for it to have real depth if one follows
         | learning paths (or if some courses are simply longer).
         | 
         | I'm sure it also depends on the topic; I only tried the free
         | graphs course.
        
           | swayson wrote:
           | It is subscription based and you get access to all of the
           | courses for a single price. To gain maximum value, you will
           | need to use the platform regularly. For me it is worth it as
           | the content is good qquality content and it suits my learning
           | style. Work through problem solving and developing intuition,
           | often through visual aids and everyday experience.
           | 
           | The math and science subjects I'd say is most mature, and has
           | the most content. thereafter one can practice more from
           | textbooks or alike to really go into the depth and expand on
           | the mastery.
        
       | billfruit wrote:
       | I recommend "Introduction to Logic", by Irving Copi and others.
       | It is intended for philosophy majors I think, but works very well
       | for general readers.
        
       | AraceliHarker wrote:
       | The Philosopher's Toolkit by Julian Baggini and Peter S. Fosl
       | (Wiley-Blackwell)
        
       | AraceliHarker wrote:
       | The Philosopher's Toolkit by Julian Baggini and Peter S. Fosl
        
       | iou wrote:
       | Not a textbook (just a book), but still a fun way to intuitively
       | encounter formal logic -
       | https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Mock_a_Mockingbird
        
       | keskadale wrote:
       | If I understand correctly, you're asking for books that will
       | teach you logic, problem solving etc? If yes, check these out: -
       | Mathematical Circles The Russian Experience (the book is in
       | english) - How To Solve It by Polya - brilliant.org
        
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       (page generated 2021-09-12 23:02 UTC)