I’ve been trying something new recently. I get up in the morning, do my morning routine, and try to get to the Newport Public Library to write in my journal and get started on my thoughts for the day. It could be more productive than having my office at work, but it helps me think more than just at home.
While hanging out at the library, I often sit by the technology section. I can turn around, pick up a book, leaf through some technology I don’t know well, and learn something. It’s a fun concept.
My library’s tech section consists primarily of “For Dummies” books and No Scratch Press. While this is better than not having anything, if young computer enthusiasts are coming here to learn about technology and computers, I fear for their development.
The shelves are devoid of books that influence the thought processes of industry leaders. I wish there were copies of some of the canonical books on programming here. Yes, my home library is tailored to my needs, but the books here could be more inspiring.
I approached a librarian the other day and asked about getting a book. I’m looking to read THE book on computer architecture, “Computer Architecture: A Quantitative Approach.” This is the textbook on how to learn about how computers are wired. The library doesn’t have it, and they often avoid getting textbooks because they are expensive and must be updated quickly. While that is true for some books, others last for decades. Also, some textbooks that need to be added should exist on this shelf. For example, Pragmatic Programmers should be one where there are multiple copies in case one is checked out.
I’ve got some ideas about what I want to do here. I’ll find a way to donate many books to the library. Another idea may be to create a mail order/borrow library system for these technical books that would be more easily accessible to anyone trying to learn this field. Another unlikely idea is opening a coffee shop with a collection of essential computer books for people to read and understand while sipping quality coffee. All these ideas still need to be set, but I want to do something someday.
A slight aside: a friend is trying to build an app for the iPhone using AI to help him write the code. What he has gotten out of the machine is impressive, but he doesn’t understand what the code is doing. It made me think about education for people like my friend. Even if AI can do 80% of the work, the remaining 20%, architecture and code design, is essential. That last bit of refinement may be tricky for AI to realize.
This morning, while scanning Hacker News, I saw this post. It discusses how AI doesn’t disappear tech debt; it increases its expense. This seems related to my concerns: I fear that people are entering the programming world without some fundamental tools in their toolbox.