The Pattern on the Stone

Throughout my adventures in CIS 115 (Intro to Computer Science) I have had the opportunities to read the textbooks for our class. One of these books is The Pattern on the Stone: The Simple Ideas that Make Computers Work by W. Daniel Hillis. I think I took the most interest in this book because it felt less like reading for class and more of reading out of interest. The writer does a very good job to add personality to the book, as he tells of his own experiences. The terms that Hillis uses makes concepts easy to learn. Coming from a background of only self-taught computer knowledge, I was immediately interested, and was eager to learn more.

The book did not fail to meet my expectations. I was automatically hooked at the first mention of Boolean algebra, which I had not heard of at the time of my reading, especially since I also have a love of math. To learn about these individuals that helped set the foundation for computing science was really axciting. To think that Hilli has actually met Claude Shannon! Whew, I got a little excited there.

Of course, all of this new information led me on a mad Google and Wikipedia spree, looking at the "mathematics" behind Boolean algebra, logic gates, and other concepts which led me in this spider web-like pattern across the web, where I had links open in my browser on everything from Charles Babbage to Minecraft (logic gates work in video games too, you know).

What amazed me most about my findings was he amount of information I did not know. While I did not have that much prior knowledge, it was surprising to see how much depth the information had to it, spanning generations, countless contributors, and multiple discoveries that helped shape the computing world into what it is today. The book also helped me understand present technologies that I work with today, by trying to understand them on a simpler level.

Besides the fact that most of my friends are not exactly technologically-literate, I would definitely recommend this book to them if they wanted to learn more. Like I said in the beginning, the book really became an easier read as it was easy to understand from the beginning. The comparisons in the book are relatable to other information that a reader might identify, making the learning that much easier. I'm glad to have had the opportunity to read The Pattern on the Stone.