Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uwm.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!ginosko!brutus.cs.uiuc.edu!apple!vsi1!wyse!mips!mash From: mash@mips.COM (John Mashey) Newsgroups: comp.arch Subject: Books to read before thinking about computer architecture Message-ID: <28168@winchester.mips.COM> Date: 25 Sep 89 12:13:59 GMT Lines: 108 Occasionally, people send e-mail asking for references on good books in computer architecture and design. (That might make a good discussion topic: what are your choices for the top 5-10 such books? and why?) Following is NOT my list for that topic, but for a list of books to read BEFORE thinking about computer architecture and design. None of them look like they have anything to do with such design, but I think they have useful lessons in: critical thinking: GAR81a, PAUL88a, RAN86a good design and bad design, other areas of engineering: BLA74a, NOR88a, PAP73a, PAP74a, PET82a clear expression of ideas, in English or graphics: STR79a, TUF83a All are well-written, often amusing, and are generally written not for an expert in the field, but for the intelligent layper- son. (What's missing is an equally good book on basic logic; maybe someone can suggest one; also, "Lies, Damn Lies, and Stat- istics should be hera, but I can't find mine). [BLA74a] Peter Blake, Form Follows Fiasco, Why Modern Architecture Hasn't Worked. Little, Brown, and Company, Boston/Toronto, 1974. Architectural fantasies that haven't produced liveable and useable designs, and why. [GAR81a] Martin Gardner, Science, Good, Bad, and Bogus, Prometheus Books, Buffalo, NY, 1981. Pseudoscience; ESP; famous fakes and unmasking thereof; margi- nal cases; many lessons in critical thinking and the differ- ences between good science, bad science (i.e., honest, but poorly-controlled experiments), and outright fakery. Goes with [RAN86a]; if you like either of these, consider subscrib- ing ($22.50/year) to: The Skeptical Inquirer Box 229 Buffalo, NY 14215-0229 This is put out by the Committee for the Scientific Investiga- tion of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), whose Fellows in- clude such folks as: Isaac Asimov, Murray Gell-Mann, Douglas Hofstadter, Carl Sagan, B. F. Skinner, and many other sharp folks. [NOR88a] Donald A. Norman, The Pyschology of Everyday Things, Basic Books, New York, 1988. A readable introduction to human-usability design, with many examples (good and bad) from everyday life, including many computer-related ones. [PAP73a] Victor Papanek, Design for the Real World, Bantam Books, Toronto, 1973. Appropriate design. [PAP77a] V. Papanek and J. Hennessey, How Things Don't Work, Pantheon Books, New York, 1977. Good thoughts for designers of anything. See Chapter 7 espe- cially. [PAUL88a] John Allen Paulos, INNUMERACY, Mathematical Illiteracy and its Consequences, Hill and Wang, New York, 1988. An excellent book about critical thinking about numbers for the the non-mathematician. [PET82a] Henry Petroski, To Engineer Is Human, The role of failure in successful design. St. Martin's Press, New York, 1982. Most examples come from civil engineering, i.e., bridges, buildings, but other areas of engineering are included. Of course, failures in this area are amongst the most spectacular in all of engineering. [RAN86a] James Randi, Flim-Flam - Pyschics, ESP, Unicorms, and Other Delusions, Prometheus Books, Buffalo, NY, 1986. "The Amazing Randi" looks at the history of some of the sil- lier cases; amusing tales of the many contenders for Randi's $10K reward for provable psychic events (yet to be won); why scientists should always include a magician in the group when studying such things. (Scientists are often good at experi- mental design when studying the universe, but they aren't use to the universe trying to hoax them; magicians seem better at experimental design for detecting hoaxes.) [STR79a] W. Strunk, Jr., E. B. White, The Elements of Style, 3rd Edi- tion, MacMillan, New York, 1979. Anyone who writes in the English language should have this. [TUF83a] Edward R. Tufte, The Visual Display of Quantitative Informa- tion, Graphics Press, Cheshire, CT, 1983. A wonderful book on how to tell the truth well, with graphs, and how to recognize graphical gimmickry, as well. Chapter 2, ``Graphical Integrity'' is especially useful. Also, how not to get carried away with the ``chartjunk'' made possible by current desktop publishing systems.... -- -john mashey DISCLAIMER:UUCP: {ames,decwrl,prls,pyramid}!mips!mash OR mash@mips.com DDD: 408-991-0253 or 408-720-1700, x253 USPS: MIPS Computer Systems, 930 E. Arques, Sunnyvale, CA 94086