Showing posts with label feynman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label feynman. Show all posts

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 ...