- Hardcover: 272 pages
- Publisher: O'Reilly Media; 1 edition (25 May 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0596006624
- ISBN-13: 978-0596006624
- Product Dimensions: 21.8 x 14.8 x 2.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
498,195 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #12 in Books > Computers & Internet > Software & Graphics > Applications > Fractal Design Painter
- #24 in Books > Computers & Internet > Computer Science > Information Systems > Information Theory
- See Complete Table of Contents
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
"The computer world is like an intellectual Wild West, in which you can shoot anyone you wish with your ideas, if you're willing to risk the consequences. " --from Hackers & Painters: Big Ideas from the Computer Age, by Paul Graham
We are living in the computer age, in a world increasingly designed and engineered by computer programmers and software designers, by people who call themselves hackers. Who are these people, what motivates them, and why should you care?
Consider these facts: Everything around us is turning into computers. Your typewriter is gone, replaced by a computer. Your phone has turned into a computer. So has your camera. Soon your TV will. Your car was not only designed on computers, but has more processing power in it than a room-sized mainframe did in 1970. Letters, encyclopedias, newspapers, and even your local store are being replaced by the Internet.
Hackers & Painters: Big Ideas from the Computer Age, by Paul Graham, explains this world and the motivations of the people who occupy it. In clear, thoughtful prose that draws on illuminating historical examples, Graham takes readers on an unflinching exploration into what he calls "an intellectual Wild West."
The ideas discussed in this book will have a powerful and lasting impact on how we think, how we work, how we develop technology, and how we live. Topics include the importance of beauty in software design, how to make wealth, heresy and free speech, the programming language renaissance, the open-source movement, digital design, internet startups, and more.
From the Publisher
Written in clear, narrative style, Hackers & Painters examines issues such as the rightness of web-based applications, the programming language renaissance, spam filtering, the Open Source Movement, Internet startups and more. In each essay, Graham moves beyond widely held beliefs about the way that programmers work as he tells important stories about the kinds of people behind tech innovations, revealing distinctions about their characters and their craft. No hackers reading this book will fail to recognize themselves within these pages. No programmer will put it down without new thoughts actively percolating.
Inside This Book
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very diverse - but mostly good stuff,
By
This review is from: Hackers & Painters: Big Ideas from the Computer Age: Essays on the Art of Programming (Hardcover)
Paul Graham is clearly a man with opinions. This collection of essays ranges from the trials of being a nerdy teenager (absolutely brilliant) to neo-liberal politics (definitely not my thing) to how to fix spam (interesting) to the merits of various programming languages (in case you're wondering, Lisp is the greatest...)
I'd recommend any programmer to read this book. He has a very different perspective to most modern writers and that's refreshing, though I don't always agree with his conclusions. He also writes very well and it's a good read. Unfortunately I would guess that large sections of it are off limits to non-programmers: it's hard to buy a book when you're not going to get half of it. Even the supposedly non-techie chapters tend to throw in comments about (for example) static typing here and there. Chapter 1 is a brilliantly insightful "nerd's eye" view into how secondary school culture works and everyone should read it (particularly anyone with an interest in teenage education).
5.0 out of 5 stars
Personal Favourite!,
By Sebster (UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Hackers & Painters: Big Ideas from the Computer Age (Paperback)
I absolutely loved reading this book. I didn't want it to end. The insights to many aspects of IT and life were very interesting to me. This is the kind of book you shouldn't read in bed because you'll never go to sleep! Anybody interested in IT and programming should read this book.
5.0 out of 5 stars
brilliant, clear writing,
This review is from: Hackers & Painters: Big Ideas from the Computer Age (Paperback)
An intelligent, clear, well-written book. I give it 5 stars. No question. Theres nothing boring or ivory tower about this book. I really wish more authors had his gift for clear, brilliant thinking and really good writing.
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