
Random Notes from R. W. Hamming, Art of Doing Science and Engineering - tosh
https://people.cs.clemson.edu/~steve/hammingquotes.htm
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rofo1
Favorite ones / I've noted something similar:

"An expert is one who knows everything about nothing; A generalist knows
nothing about everything. In an argument between a specialist and a generalist
the expert usually wins by simply (1) using unintelligible jargon, and (2)
citing their specialist results which are often completely irrelevant to the
discussion."

Just a little addendum: 3) ego (in particular, flattering) can persuade most
of the conversations

Most funny one:

"For more than 40 years I have claimed that if whether an airplane would fly
or not would depend on whether some function that arose in its design was
Lebesgue but not Riemann integrable, then I would not fly in it. Would you?
Does Nature recognize the difference? I doubt it!"

Looks like a big that will be very enjoyable. Thanks for sharing!

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EdwardCoffin
If you find some of these notes worthwhile, I _highly_ recommend reading the
book it is from. I think the book is also readable in somewhat random order,
the chapters are mostly independent of each other. Also, I think you could
read a few chapters then put it down and return to it months later and not
really have to pick up the thread of where you were.

I read this book carefully and cover-to-cover close to a decade ago, and have
returned to it often. I give it a 10 out of 10.

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yesenadam
I've read a few of Hamming's books; they're all great, it seems. _Numerical
Methods_ and _Methods of Mathematics_ I enjoyed particularly. I should try the
rest. They're written at a level (I guess undergraduate) I can understand, and
are ideal for 'experimental programmer' types.

I don't think I've seen them recommended anywhere (except the _Learning to
Learn_ one, which is now available on youtube), maybe they don't fit curricula
or not advanced enough or outdated. I just really like his voice, and the way
they're soaked with practical experience.

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everybodyknows
Video of career recollections, and more links:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18505884](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18505884)

Excellent advice on staying productive, in the video transcript.

