Monday 15 September 2008

Let My Textbooks Go!

There are three problems with prescribed textbooks:
  1. A generally low standard: Feyman's anecdote. Has anything changed since the 60's?
  2. An inflated sticker price: A NY Times article explains how textbook publishers are like big pharma.
  3. Limited content: So learn how to search the interweb!
Textbooks are starting to be given away for free. One free one that I have bought -- because I wanted a dead leaves version -- "one of the great classics of Computer Science" - Paul Graham.

This is free as in free beer, which addresses point 2. Point 1, the generally low standard, might be helped by more collaborative work on the content, taking a leaf out of the free software movement.

We'll see ...

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