I read it and I had to do the Scheme course twice. It's the ghey don't touch it.
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Anonymous2007-08-19 7:39 ID:S2DOwlyX
Ha ha ha, Amazon reviews are full of C fags and failed first-year students frustrated with having to think a bit and failing Scheme. (But assembly is bettar, it was so easy! ;____; )
I'll highlight this:
Peter Norvig: I think its fascinating that there is such a split between those who love and hate this book. Most reviews give a bell-shaped curve of star ratings; this one has a peak at 1, a peak at 5, and very little in between. How could this be? I think it is because SICP is a very personal message that works only if the reader is a computer scientist (or willing to become one). So I agree that the book's odds of success are better if you read it after having some experience. To use an analogy, if SICP were about automobiles, it would be for the person who wants to know how cars work, how they are built, and how one might design fuel-efficient, safe, reliable vehicles for the 21st century. The people who hate SICP are the ones who just want to know how to drive their car on the highway, just like everyone else.
Paul Graham: This is one of the great classics of computer science. I bought my first copy 15 years ago, and I still don't feel I have learned everything the book has to teach.
(Achieving Satori is a hard, long way.) Reading the reviews made it clear what happened. An optimistic professor somewhere has been feeding SICP to undergrads who are not ready for it. But it is encouraging to see how many thoughtful people have come forward to defend the book.