🚀 go-pugleaf

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: <generic disclaimer, I speak for me only, etc>
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