A popular science reading list for students of Computer Science

Dr. Mark Lee, School of Computer Science
University of Birmingham

Introduction

If you're a student of Computer Science then you should find the following books fascinating, insightful and most importantly, fun to read. If you're lucky enough to reach the summer holidays without any resits then you could do far worse than picking one (or several) to read along side whatever else you're reading (please don't say Harry Potter!).

I've tried to pick books which interested/motivated me as a student. The list is obviously incomplete and unfortunately some of the best books I've read are now out of print. However, the main library has copies of all the books listed below. I'll be adding to this list when 1) I have time 2) when I finish another book which is worth including (I'm still a student myself).

If you've read a book which you think should be listed then please email me - I'd be very happy to hear from you.

Computer Science

Douglas R. Hofstadter Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid (1979) Penguin
This book is a classic and is probably required reading for any Computer Scientist. Hofstadter weaves a conceptual rug which combines the mathematical and philosophical insights of Kurt Godel with the paradoxical etchings of Escher and the music of J.S. Bach to communicate a deep and intricate view of what constitutes computer science. Some students might be put off by the book's size - it's a fairly dense 800 page work but Hofstadter is a very funny and charming writer. I'd recommend this book as a reading challange for any student over the summer holidays.

This book should be available in any large bookshop and there are lots of cheap second hand copies on Amazon. Apparently the 1994 edition is better than the latest 2000 edition in terms of print quality. The Main Library has quite a few copies (class mark BC 135/H)

Raymond M. Smullyan
What Is the Name of This Book?: The Riddle of Dracula and Other Logical Puzzles (1978)
The Lady or the Tiger?: And Other Logic Puzzles (1988)
To Mock a Mockingbird: And Other Logic Puzzles (2000) (All published by Penguin)
Raymond M. Smullyan is an American logician who has published 15 or so popular science logic books. I've only read the above but found them to be consistantly excellent. Each book consists of puzzles followed by discussion and Smullyan is brilliant at teaching difficult logic concepts using puzzles which gradually require more and more cunning.

You can find quite a few of his books in the main library under the classmarks QA 9 & B3436.

Artificial Intelligence

Douglas R. Hofstadter & Daniel C. Dennett (editors)
The Mind's I: Fantasies and Reflections on Self & Soul (1985) Penguin
This is a collection of classic papers on Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy, Cognitive Science plus discussions and thought experiments suggested by Hofstadter and Dennett. It's an excellent collection and includes classic papers by Alan Turing and John Searle. There's also various papers and thought experiments included which wouldn't look out of place in the weirdest science fiction. After completing the first year of my degree, I was given this to read over summer in preparation for a second year module on philosophy - it almost made me look forward to the end of the holidays.

There are a lot of very cheap second hand copies of this book on Amazon and our Main Library has a copy at B 839.5/H

Philosophy

Marcus Aurelius Meditations (180 CE - Penguin edition 2006) Penguin
Marcus Aurelius was the last of the so-called good emperiors of the Roman Empire during 160-180 AD. During this time, the Parthians were defeated, a civil war was crushed, the Germanic tribes pushed further and further into the empire and Aurelius battled the Marcomanni, Quadi, and Sarmatians. In addition to all this, Aurelius is regarded as one of the most important stoic philosophers and his meditations were personal thoughts on ethics, duty and what it means to live a good life. Despite the distance in time, his world view is still very relevant today.

John Gray Straw Dogs: Thoughts on Humans and Other Animals (2003) Granta
Gray's book undermines humanism by arguing against two common assumptions: the centrality (or importance) of mankind and the idea of progress (either in a moral or social sense). I remember disagreeing with most of the first chapter and then the second and third ... until I finished the book and decided that a lot of my previous ideas were completely wrong. I think Straw Dogs is a challenging book in terms of ideas. However it is also exceptionally well argued without any obscure philosophical language or references.

William Poundstone Labyrinths of Reason: Paradox, Puzzles and the Frailty of Knowledge (1991) Penguin
In 288 pages, Poundstone covers famous puzzles and paradoxs concerning logic, language and knowledge. This is a fascinating book which provides a very fast tour of most of the classical examples of paradox including Hempel's ravens, Zeno's paradoxes of motion etc. In some ways, this is a disadvantage because the book tries to cover so many very different problems but it's an excellent first taste of a difficult and intriguing topic.

The Main Library has just one copy of this book - it's at BC 177.

Science

David Deutsch The Fabric of Reality: Towards a Theory of Everything (1998) Penguin Deutsch attempts in just under 400 pages to provide an overarching theory of reality which draws together quantum mechanics, evolution, knowledge and computation. I believe the physics is now slightly dated (part of the theory requires a cosmic big crunch for instance) however his exposition of what a theory is (and the role of explanations in a Popperian view of science) is worth it alone. It also places computer science (quite rightly) at the centre of any deep view of science.

David Deutsch The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations that Transform The World (2012) Penguin
This isn't a direct followup but touches on a number of themes above. However it stands alone as an introduction into the weird world of infinite numbers. Along the way Deutsch provides a theory of beauty and in one chapter provides the best explanation of Hilbert's hotel that I've read.

Richard Dawkins The Blind Watchmaker (1986 - new editions available) Penguin
Before Prof. Dawkins became more famous for his hardline atheist stance he wrote a series of memorable books on evolution. This was the first I read so I think it probably had the bigger influence on me (but the Selfish Gene is worth a read too). Both provide an account of evolution based around the gene rather than the organism and demonstrate how the complxity of life can be explained. I've read most of Dawkin's books and I've found them all worthwhile - though I wish he'd spend more time on explaining biology rather than kicking religion (I also suspect he'd also be far more persuavive in terms of anti-religion).