Ask HN: What are the 'classical' papers worth reading?

[sva_]

Good evening folks,

I've recently grown an interest in classical literature and read some rather old books (like the works of Dostoyevsky for example.)

I found these so great that I figured it might also be worth it to look at some classical papers. Having read Shannon's 'A mathematical theory of communication', which I found very accessible, I've grown to wonder what other 'classical', and perhaps influential papers I haven't read yet. I just never got around to do it as older works often feel 'stale' to me.

So I'm wondering, what papers can you guys recommend as a 'must-read' for the curious mind? I'm not even just asking about computer science in particular, anything that seems interesting might qualify.

I'd love to get some recommendations.

I'm also open to book recommendations.

[sargstuff]

Follw-ups to "considered harmful"[1] as a way to see how classic perceptions change over time.

[1] : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Considered_harmful

[undopamine]

This list might be of interest: https://x.com/curiouswavefn/status/1749647212811084061?s=20

[cpach]

Recursive Functions of Symbolic Expressions and their Computation by Machine (Part I). The original paper on Lisp. It’s a joy to read. 'pg wrote a very good companion: The Roots of Lisp.

http://www-formal.stanford.edu/jmc/recursive.html

https://www.paulgraham.com/rootsoflisp.html

[syndicatedjelly]

Check out Harry Lewis’s “Ideas that Created the Future”

[FrankWilhoit]

Miller, "The Magic Number 7" (Bell Labs)

[admissionsguy]

The origin of continents by Alfred Wegener (1912)

and

Spreading of the Ocean Floor by Vine (1966)

[newprint]

Every Nobel prize is a result of research paper(s). Here is your answer.

[sva_ → newprint]

Claude Shannon, whose paper is the only example I named, never got a nobel prize. So I'm unsure what point you're making.

[newprint → sva_]

Your question is very broad. I don't know if you are asking about classic paper Molecular Structure for Nucleic Acid(1953) or you want to read classic proof of Vinogradov's theorem. By definition, whoever gets the Nobel prize, put out classic paper and it doesn't mean that people who didn't get the Nobel prize, didn't put out classic papers.

[sargstuff → sva_]

Perference for short pointer over long pointer. Obviously stack over flow reference problem could have been avoided with standard int. via look up on web. Leap seconds to fleeting a solution.