

hi all. coding has been very good to me over the years, ever since I was a teenager. could write a lot about it and already have elsewhere on the blog. I will be the 1st to admit its not for everybody [and have been saying that ever since I 1st learned it]. yet, it is very much worthwhile and occasionally exciting and transformative.

here is a big bag of informative, standout, high quality, engaging, and entertaining links & a post Ive been working on for the better part of a year. its styled as relatively diverse and focused at the same time. am timing it with Computer Science EDU week Dec 9-15 2013. its a celebration of coding and the complex environment and universe that surrounds it, its past, present and future. I also like to borrow heavily from popular stackexchange questions that delve into various aspects.

[a], overview/background/intro. on how algorithms are ubiquitous, developers/programmers/IT, terminology, why so many programming languages, efficiency of code, visual programming, famous software bugs.

[b] coding and computer science and the algorithmic lens as a way of thinking or comprehensive worldview affecting science in general. critical thinking skills.

[c] cool theoretical aspects of computer science. theoretical algorithms in everyday life. great results/algorithms. how to write papers. P=?NP for 10 yr olds. theoretical CS approachable to teenagers. NP hardness. learning about P vs NP.

[d] remarkable stories in the news. supercomputers, India, newspapers, java, travelling salesman problem, CS postdoc growth, google, microsoft, visual programming, 2013 Nobel, old automaton.

[e] a presidency hinges on a well-running web site [Obamacare] and it becomes headline, make-or-break news with major political implications. an ongoing PR fiasco.

[f] donkey kong hack (viral coding story repeated in MSM). father turns donkey kong into a feminist exercise.

[g] books. lists of CS and theoretical books & popsci, etc. esp good for self-study. the most popular books by polls/voting.

[h] books specifically on the amazing universe of algorithms. on the remarkable history and their ongoing development.

[i] douglas hofsftadter winner of the pulitzer prize writing about algorithmic topics and his books are in a class by themself.

[j] P vs NP. the beautiful, unsolved $1M problem at the heart of computer science.

[k] two outstanding free online books on CS, Aho/Ullman and Savage Models of computation.

[l] on the learning/teaching of computer science to the masses. opinions, news. (new) curriculum. raspberry pi. high school or younger CS. getting teenagers interested. national computer science week resources.

[m] games as an excellent coding tool/exercise/entry esp for kids. scratch etc.

[n] is teaching code really a good idea? “con” views.

[o] contests/groups/projects. kaggle, algorithm competitions, project euler, topcoder, etc.

[p] code.org, a slick well-designed site with some very high profile supporters such as Gates, Zuckerberg, etcetera, good promotional video(s).

[q] the inspiring stories of the elite crowd and their opinions and careers in (T)CS. Simons, etc. Nobel prize winners.

a. overview/background/intro

b. thinking/worldview

c. theoretical

d. stories/news

e. obamacare

f. kong hack

g. books

h. algorithms

i. hofstadter

j. pnp

k. online

l. learn/teach

m. games

n. bad idea?

o. contests/groups/projects

p. code.org

q. elite