The Pattern On The Stone: The Simple Ideas That Make Computers Work (Science Masters Series) 1st Edition by W. Daniel Hillis (PDF)

Description

Most people are baffled by how computers work and assume that they will never understand them. What they don’t realize — and what Daniel Hillis’s short book brilliantly demonstrates — is that computers’ seemingly complex operations can be broken down into a few simple parts that perform the same simple procedures over and over again. Computer wizard Hillis offers an easy-to-follow explanation of how data is processed that makes the operations of a computer seem as straightforward as those of a bicycle. Avoiding technobabble or discussions of advanced hardware, the lucid explanations and colorful anecdotes in The Pattern on the Stone go straight to the heart of what computers really do. Hillis proceeds from an outline of basic logic to clear descriptions of programming languages, algorithms, and memory. He then takes readers in simple steps up to the most exciting developments in computing today — quantum computing, parallel computing, neural networks, and self-organizing systems. Written clearly and succinctly by one of the world’s leading computer scientists, The Pattern on the Stone is an indispensable guide to understanding the workings of that most ubiquitous and important of machines: the computer.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Honestly, the best CS0 book out there. Not really any detail on binary or assembler programming, but the students will get that in Architecture and/or OS. Much more understandable than other CS0 books for the average incoming CS major (I’ve taught at several schools from regional comprehensives to small private liberal arts colleges to R2s & R1s), and it’s an INCREDIBLE book for non-majors, because I teach a version of CS0 for them, too. There are some parts where Danny Hillis kind of goes off the rails, but they’re minor: – He asserts that the brain was “designed” by evolution, which is a gross misunderstanding of evolution, and I do worry about that kind of thing with impressionable college freshman – He calls an infinite recursion an “infinite loop” – He says things like “only one of the registers in the memory is access at a time, but that’s PER CONCURRENT INSTRUCTION – He refers to Alonzo Church as “one of Turing’s contemporaries”, rather than as Alan Turing’s PhD advisorStuff like this is not really all that important to students, and correctness can be debated, but it’s a symptom of the only problem with the book, which is that Hillis goes up and down in terms of level of detail with which he explains things, and he does so either randomly or with a pattern I don’t understand.Why am I giving it five stars if it has problems? Look at other CS0 books. They have more problems, and they’re on average about TEN TIMES AS EXPENSIVE. Hillis gives so much bang for the buck that I don’t care. When it’s important, I note it in class.

⭐First, I am not only an Artist and Game Designer, but also an Electronic Technician. The Pattern On the Stone is the ABSOLUTE BEST EXPLANATION FOR HOW COMPUTERS WORK THAT I have EVER come across, and is written at a level that many older – and some younger – Elementary School Children could understand! In my personal opinion as a Techie and Accused Hacker, it is the single most Elegent Concise Book that the Computer Technology Industry has EVER produced about Computers, bar none. Ultra Elite Mega Hacker, Etc. to School Child with their first box access, ANYONE who has or uses Computers should read THIS BOOK. Reverey

⭐I am not sure what I expected from this book, but I found it lacking in content. I didn’t learn anything from this that I hadn’t learned from Code, by Charles Petzold, and in greater detail.

⭐This book was easy to read and comprehend.

⭐I buy this for friends and siblings as a present. Very accessible – but also contains solid content. I work with software/computers and I enjoyed reading it as a broad refresher.

⭐Rarely does a book on comutation rise to such a level. This book unfolds and reveals the whole idea of computation rather than any particular technology. Hillis has joined the ranks of such thinkers as Turing and Shannon with his ground breaking practical work in the field; this gem of a book should be a must-read for not only everyone interested in computing but everyone interested in the future of civilisation as well.

⭐To people looking for a descriptive read over computers, where they came from and where they are heading this is a great book!

⭐This book is an easy to understand “introduction” to computer science. It explains the main ideas in this field including some “difficult” ideas such as the way artificial neural networks work.

⭐A lovely book that I would recommended to anyone interested in understanding computers, where you no nothing at all or are a professor of computing. Perhaps If I had read it at 16 I would have got into this fun field sooner.

⭐This book is on the recommended reading list for anyone considering doing a degree in computer science. An interesting book

⭐Das Buch ist eine exzellente, kurz gefasste Einführung in die Ideen der Informatik. Das Niveau richtet sich an interessierte Leser, die den einfachsten elektrischen Schaltkreis aus einer Batterie, einer Lampe und einem Schalter deuten können und ist somit auch für ältere Kinder interessant. Grundlegend beantwortet das Buch die Frage wie die Computer funktionieren, angefangen bei den Schaltkreisen bis zur Software mit einer Erklärung wie diese zwei Aspekte zusammenspielen. Im Bereich der Software werden die Konzepte der Berechenbarkeit, der Effizienz von Algorithmen und die Unterscheidung zwischen Algorithmen und Heuristik allgemeinverständlich eingeführt. Nach einem kurzen Ausflug in die Informationstheorie schließt das Buch mit einigen Ideen zur Künstlichen Intelligenz. Neben dem fachlichen Inhalt vermittelt das Buch auch die Idee wie die komplexen Systeme aus unserem Alltag durch das Zusammenspiel von vielen einfachen (Sub-)Systemen entstehen. Ich kann das Buch wärmstens jedem Leser empfehlen, der sich schon immer gefragt hat wie die Geräte funktionieren, die unser Leben so grundlegend verändert haben.

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