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rlm@97 1 #+title: Prof. Sussman's Reading List
rlm@97 2 #+author: Gerald Sussman (compiled by Robert McIntyre)
rlm@97 3 #+email: rlm@mit.edu
rlm@103 4 #+description: Professor Sussman's reading recommendations
rlm@122 5 #+keywords: Sussman physics computer science reading list MIT
rlm@97 6 #+SETUPFILE: ../../aurellem/org/setup.org
rlm@97 7 #+INCLUDE: ../../aurellem/org/level-0.org
rlm@97 8 #+babel: :mkdirp yes :noweb yes :exports both
rlm@97 9
rlm@122 10 Serving as a TA for Professor Sussman will get you three things: great
rlm@122 11 advice, spectacular reading recommendations, and lots of high quality
rlm@121 12 tea. I can't share the advice or the tea, but I can compile a reading
rlm@121 13 list. Some of the materials on this represent research paths that lead
rlm@122 14 to unexplored territory. Some are textbooks that express concepts so
rlm@121 15 clearly they will change your life and make you weep for joy. I hope
rlm@121 16 that you will get something interesting out of this reading list,
rlm@121 17 wherever you are in life -- there's stuff I wish I knew about in
rlm@121 18 middle school, and there are things I can't wait to read this
rlm@121 19 summer. Enjoy! (and send corrections to reading-list@aurellem.org!)
rlm@115 20
rlm@104 21 If you want to cite any of these papers, [[./sussman-recs.bib][here]] is a bibtex format file
rlm@104 22 that contains all of these papers in the order they appear on the
rlm@104 23 page. ([[./sussman-recs.bib]]).
rlm@104 24
rlm@120 25 * From Sussman's Bookshelf:
rlm@101 26
rlm@117 27 - [[http://www.amazon.com/Introductory-Network-Theory-Amar-Bose/dp/B0000CMXS1][Introductory Network Theory]], by A.G. Bose and K.N. Stevens
rlm@117 28 - ASIN: B0000CMXS1
rlm@117 29 - Get the real story about RLC circuits!
rlm@117 30 - Obsolete -- it only covers linear circuits.
rlm@101 31
rlm@117 32 - [[http://www.amazon.com/Linear-Nonlinear-Circuits-Leon-Chua/dp/0070108986][Linear and Nonlinear Circuits]], by Chua, Desoler, and Kuh
rlm@117 33 - ISBN: 0070108986
rlm@117 34 - More up-to-date than /Network Theory/
rlm@101 35 - 10/10 would teach
rlm@117 36 - Mathematically very clear
rlm@101 37
rlm@117 38 - [[http://frank.harvard.edu/aoe/][The Art of Electronics]], by Horowitz & Hill
rlm@117 39 - ASIN: B001ERDQVI
rlm@117 40 - Practical
rlm@117 41 - Beautiful
rlm@101 42
rlm@117 43 - [[http://www.amazon.com/Analysis-Design-Analog-Integrated-Circuits/dp/0471574953/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1401819423&sr=1-1&keywords=Analysis+and+Design+of+Analog+Integrated+Circuits+3rd+edition][Analysis and Design of Analog Integrated Circuits]], by Grey and
rlm@117 44 Meyer
rlm@117 45 - ISBN: 0471574953
rlm@117 46 - Get the 2nd or 3rd edition, not later ones.
rlm@101 47
rlm@117 48 - [[http://www.maa.org/publications/maa-reviews/a-survey-of-modern-algebra][A Survey of Modern Algebra]], by Garrett Birkhoff and Saunders
rlm@117 49 MacLane
rlm@117 50 - ISBN: 9781568814544
rlm@122 51 - Goes all the way to Galois Theory!
rlm@117 52 - Clear!
rlm@101 53
rlm@117 54 - [[http://usf.usfca.edu/vca//][Visual Complex Analysis]], Needham
rlm@117 55 - ISBN: 0198534469
rlm@101 56 - Easy reading, well written
rlm@117 57 - Wonderful use of graphics!
rlm@101 58
rlm@117 59 - [[http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/solid-shape][Solid Shape]], Jan Koenderink
rlm@117 60 - ISBN: 026211139X
rlm@117 61 - Just good!
rlm@101 62
rlm@117 63 - [[http://www.cambridge.org/gb/academic/subjects/physics/theoretical-physics-and-mathematical-physics/probability-theory-logic-science][Probability: the Logic of Science]], by E.T. Jaynes
rlm@117 64 - ISBN: 9780521592710
rlm@117 65 - OMG just read this already!
rlm@117 66 - Here's [[http://www-biba.inrialpes.fr/Jaynes/prob.html][some]] [[http://omega.albany.edu:8008/JaynesBook.html][links]] to the book.
rlm@117 67 - This book will change your life, and make probability make
rlm@117 68 sense. Truly excellent book.
rlm@117 69 - Why aren't you reading this!?
rlm@101 70
rlm@117 71 - [[http://www.perseusacademic.com/book.php?isbn=0805390219][Calculus on Manifolds]], Spivak
rlm@117 72 - ISBN: 9780805390216
rlm@117 73 - Great Mathematical notation!
rlm@117 74 - Was an inspiration for [[http://groups.csail.mit.edu/mac/users/gjs/6946/sicm-html/book.html][SICM]].
rlm@117 75 - Book contains a great flame!
rlm@101 76
rlm@118 77 - [[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1258635.The_Variational_Principles_of_Mechanics][The Variational Principles of Mechanics]], by Cornelius Lanczos
rlm@118 78 - ISBN: 0486650677
rlm@118 79 - Very philosophic; deep.
rlm@117 80 - You could read it 100 times and learn something new each time!
rlm@103 81
rlm@119 82 - [[http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/computers-and-thought][Computers and Thought]], by Edward A. Feigenbaum (Editor), Julian
rlm@119 83 Feldman (Editor).
rlm@113 84 - ISBN: 0262560925
rlm@113 85 This book includes some of the very interesting early papers in
rlm@113 86 AI, and is overall a great book. Of course, some of the included
rlm@119 87 papers are not very interesting.
rlm@113 88
rlm@119 89 - [[http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/configuration-space-method-kinematic-design-mechanisms][The Configuration Space Method for Kinematic Design of Mechanisms]],
rlm@113 90 by Elisha Sacks and Leo Joskowicz
rlm@119 91 - ISBN: 9780262013895
rlm@113 92 - I learned a lot reading this. (RLM should read this!)
rlm@113 93
rlm@119 94 - [[http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780199549078.do][Principles of Development]], by Wolpert
rlm@119 95 - ISBN: 0199554285
rlm@113 96
rlm@119 97 - [[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1547380.A_Genetic_Switch][A Genetic Switch]], by Mark Ptashne
rlm@119 98 - ISBN: 0865423156
rlm@119 99 - Such clarity!
rlm@119 100 - [[http://www.mskcc.org/research/lab/mark-ptashne/genetic-switch-lecture-series][Lecture Series Based on the book!]]
rlm@103 101
rlm@119 102 - [[http://making-of-a-fly.me/][The Making of a Fly]], by Peter A. Lawrence
rlm@119 103 - ISBN: 0632030488
rlm@119 104 - Probably out of date already, but very well written!
rlm@119 105
rlm@119 106 - [[http://www.amazon.com/Pattern-Formation-Ciliate-Studies-Models/dp/0195048903][Pattern Formation: Ciliate Studies and Models]], by Joseph Frankel
rlm@119 107 - ISBN: 0195048903
rlm@119 108 - My type of book!
rlm@119 109
rlm@119 110 - [[http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/harmonic-mind][The Harmonic Mind]], Volumes 1 and 2, by Smolenck and Legendre
rlm@119 111 - ISBN: 9780262516198
rlm@119 112 - I'm very interested in the amazing latency of the human
rlm@119 113 brain. This book presents a way by which multiple stages of
rlm@119 114 computation can be folded together into a single computation,
rlm@119 115 and is an interesting hypothesis about how the mind might work!
rlm@119 116
rlm@119 117 - [[http://www.arrl.org/shop/ARRL-Handbook-2013-Hardcover-Edition][The Radio Amateur's Handbook]], [[http://www.arrl.org/][ARRL]]
rlm@118 118 - /practical/ electronics book
rlm@119 119 - They've been making this book for about 100 years!
rlm@118 120
rlm@119 121 - [[http://www.amazon.com/Radiotron-Langford-Smith-Reproduced-Distributed-Corporation/dp/B000JILVH4][Radiotron Designer's Handbook, 4th edition, RCA]]
rlm@119 122 - ASIN: B000JILVH4
rlm@119 123 - I'm very interested in hi-fi.
rlm@118 124
rlm@103 125 * Marvin Minsky
rlm@122 126 Minsky really made me as a person. He was my adviser when I was a
rlm@122 127 student at MIT, and he got me my first job. He had the "magnetism"
rlm@103 128 to attract the most talented people to MIT to work on AI, and the
rlm@122 129 right amount of negligence and delegation to create an environment
rlm@103 130 where people could thrive. He is certainly the reason that I was
rlm@103 131 seduced into working on AI. Minsky has vast and deep Scientific
rlm@103 132 knowledge -- he could walk into almost any class: Chemistry,
rlm@103 133 Physics, Math, Computer Science, and teach the class without
rlm@103 134 preparation!
rlm@103 135
rlm@112 136 - http://web.media.mit.edu/~minsky/ Much of Minsky's work is here,
rlm@111 137 including his book, /The Emotion Machine/, and several essays and
rlm@111 138 papers. Check it out!
rlm@103 139
rlm@111 140 - [[http://aurellem.org/society-of-mind/][Society of Mind]] Read it online! Each chapter of this book is a
rlm@111 141 short, self-contained essay about the various
rlm@103 142
rlm@112 143 - [[https://web.media.mit.edu/~minsky/papers/MusicMindMeaning.html][Music, Mind, and Meaning]] Minsky is one of a few living people who
rlm@112 144 can /improvise/ complicated Baroque era fugues. You can hear one
rlm@112 145 of these improvisations [[http://aurellem.org/mmm/][here]].
rlm@103 146
rlm@103 147 - [[http://web.media.mit.edu/~minsky/papers/steps.html][Steps towards Artificial Intelligence]] Here, Minsky outlines how we
rlm@103 148 might begin to build an AI. This is considered to be one of the
rlm@103 149 founding papers of the field, along with Turing's "Computing
rlm@103 150 Machinery and Intelligence" [[http://www.loebner.net/Prizef/TuringArticle.html][paper]].
rlm@103 151
rlm@103 152 - Perceptrons, by Marvin Minsky
rlm@103 153 - [[http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/perceptrons][MIT Press]], ISBN: 9780262631112
rlm@103 154 - Really good for "Math types."
rlm@103 155 - Uses geometry for proving things.
rlm@122 156 - People unwisely considered it to kill off Neural Nets; In fact,
rlm@103 157 it only shows the limitations of certain simple kinds of Neural
rlm@103 158 Nets.
rlm@104 159
rlm@104 160 * Representative Student Theses
rlm@104 161
rlm@104 162 These are students where I played a large role in their
rlm@104 163 education. Many of them represent compelling research directions
rlm@122 164 that desperately need to be extended by the next generation of
rlm@104 165 researchers! As Minsky says, if you want to do something really new,
rlm@104 166 go back to points in the past where there was a neat idea that never
rlm@104 167 really caught on, and follow the path of that idea to see where it
rlm@104 168 leads. A comprehensive list of all my student's works can be found
rlm@104 169 at my [[http://groups.csail.mit.edu/mac/users/gjs/gjs.html][homepage]]. If you want to cite any of these papers, you can
rlm@104 170 find bibtex citations here: [[./sussman-recs.bib]].
rlm@104 171
rlm@104 172 In particular, here's two great ideas that seem extremely promising
rlm@104 173 and have NOT been properly explored! You could be the first person
rlm@104 174 to get them working!
rlm@104 175
rlm@106 176 - Using Chaotic Systems to get unlimited measurement precision!
rlm@106 177 - Two papers:
rlm@106 178 - [[http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/5953][A Global Approach to Parameter Estimation of Chaotic Dynamical
rlm@106 179 Systems]], by [[http://eas.caltech.edu/people/3209/profile][Athanassios G. Siapas]], 1992.
rlm@122 180 - [[http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/7060][Parameter Estimation in Chaotic Systems]], by Elmer Hung, 1995.
rlm@106 181 - No one put enough effort into seeing if it really worked.
rlm@122 182 - Seems to allow for almost unlimited precision in measurement.
rlm@104 183 - Initial results look very promising, with a =13 order of
rlm@104 184 magnitude= improvement in measurement precision in a simple
rlm@104 185 experiment.
rlm@104 186 - You will win the Nobel Prize if you can get it to work, because
rlm@104 187 you will revolutionize the way we do measurements.
rlm@104 188
rlm@106 189 - [[http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/12007][Towards Intelligent Structures: Active Control of Buckling]]
rlm@106 190 - By [[http://www.berlinplace.com/][Andrew A. Berlin]], 1994
rlm@104 191 - Achieves a 10 fold increase in strength by actively eliminating
rlm@104 192 vibrational modes.
rlm@104 193 - Such a good idea; It's cool, short -- great!
rlm@104 194 - No one's followed up on it!
rlm@104 195
rlm@104 196 In historical order:
rlm@104 197
rlm@104 198 - [[http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/6888][A System for Representing and Using Real-World Knowledge]]
rlm@104 199 - By [[http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~sef/][Scott Elliot Fahlman]], 1977
rlm@104 200 - Basically the reason that the Connection Machine was later
rlm@104 201 invented.
rlm@104 202
rlm@107 203 - [[http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/5679][The Connection Machine]]
rlm@107 204 - By [[http://longnow.org/people/board/danny0/][Danny Hillis]], 1981
rlm@107 205 - Beautiful thesis, though it doesn't tell you anything you can
rlm@104 206 really /do/ today.
rlm@104 207
rlm@107 208 - [[http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/6948][A Circuit Grammar For Operational Amplifier Design]]
rlm@104 209 - By Andrew Ressler, 1984
rlm@104 210 - If you're an Electrical Engineering person.
rlm@104 211
rlm@107 212 - [[http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/6959][ONTIC: A Knowledge Representation System for Mathematics]]
rlm@107 213 - By [[http://ttic.uchicago.edu/~dmcallester/][David A. McAllester]], 1987
rlm@104 214 - Very hard, very deep.
rlm@104 215 - You will need to know a lot of Math.
rlm@104 216
rlm@107 217 - [[http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/7025][KAM: Automatic Planning and Interpretation of Numerical
rlm@107 218 Experiments Using Geometrical Methods]]
rlm@104 219 - By Kenneth Man-Kam Yip, 1989
rlm@104 220 - Coolest PhD thesis ever!
rlm@104 221 - Solve problems using graphs.
rlm@104 222 - So cool!
rlm@104 223
rlm@107 224 - [[http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/80483][Botanical Computing: A Developmental Approach to Generating
rlm@107 225 Interconnect Topologies on an Amorphous Computer]]
rlm@107 226 - By [[http://sta.uwi.edu/pelican/60under60/dcoore.asp][Daniel Coore]], 1999
rlm@104 227 - Interesting to programmers especially.
rlm@104 228
rlm@107 229 - [[http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/86667][Programmable Self-Assembly: Constructing Global Shape using
rlm@107 230 Biologically-inspired Local Interactions and Origami Mathematics]]
rlm@107 231 By [[http://www.eecs.harvard.edu/~rad/][Radhika Nagpal]], 2001
rlm@104 232 - Also Interesting to programmers.
rlm@104 233
rlm@107 234 - [[http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/8228][Cellular Computation and Communications using Engineered Genetic
rlm@107 235 Regulatory Networks]]
rlm@107 236 - By [[http://groups.csail.mit.edu/mac/users/rweiss/][Ron Weiss]], 2001
rlm@107 237 - Third in a line of bio / amorphous computing papers which should
rlm@107 238 be highly interesting to programmers.
rlm@104 239
rlm@104 240 - [[http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/6082][An Algorithm for Bootstrapping Communications]]
rlm@104 241 - By Jake Beal, 2001
rlm@104 242 - Seems like it could be "the right thing" for how modules in the
rlm@104 243 brain learn to talk to each other.
rlm@104 244 - Someone should expand on this work!
rlm@104 245 - Also a PhD thesis from Beal on this: [[http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/38483][Learning by Learning to
rlm@104 246 Communicate]], 2007
rlm@104 247
rlm@108 248 - [[http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/37913][Games, Puzzles, and Computation]]
rlm@108 249 - By [[http://groups.csail.mit.edu/mac/users/bob/][Robert Aubrey Hearn]], 2006.
rlm@104 250
rlm@108 251 - [[http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/49525][Propagation Networks: A Flexible and Expressive Substrate for
rlm@108 252 Computation]]
rlm@108 253 - By [[http://web.mit.edu/~axch/www/][Alexey Andreyevich Radul]], 2009
rlm@108 254 - Is a completely new way to program computers.
rlm@110 255 - Under active development. You can get the latest code [[http://groups.csail.mit.edu/mac/users/gjs/propagators/propagator.tar][here]].
rlm@113 256
rlm@122 257 * Some /Real/ High school Reading
rlm@117 258
rlm@117 259 - [[http://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/physics/cosmology-relativity-and-gravitation/first-course-general-relativity][A First Course in General Relativity]], by Bernard F Schultz
rlm@117 260 - ISBN: 9780521277037
rlm@117 261 - Readable, not too heavy.
rlm@117 262 - Minimal dependencies
rlm@117 263 - You can just go through it slowly and understand at each step.
rlm@117 264
rlm@117 265 - [[http://www.amazon.com/Space-Special-Relativity-David-Mermin/dp/0881334200][Space and Time in Special Relativity]], by [[http://www.lassp.cornell.edu/mermin/][David Mermin]]
rlm@117 266 - ISBN: 0881334200
rlm@117 267 - HIGHLY accessible.
rlm@117 268 - This will change your life.
rlm@117 269 - You will understand special relativity!
rlm@117 270
rlm@117 271 - [[http://www.feynmanlectures.info/][The Feynman Lectures on Physics]]
rlm@117 272 - Highly understandable
rlm@117 273 - Just go there and learn something already!
rlm@117 274
rlm@117 275 - [[http://aurellem.org/society-of-mind/][Society of Mind]], by [[http://web.media.mit.edu/~minsky/][Marvin Minsky]]
rlm@117 276 - A trove of wonderful ideas!
rlm@117 277
rlm@122 278 - [[http://www.cambridge.org/us/knowledge/discountpromotion/?site_locale=en_US&code=L3QCSD][Quantum Computing since Democritus]], by [[http://www.scottaaronson.com/][Scott Aaronson]]
rlm@117 279 - Everything you might want to know about computing with QM, with
rlm@117 280 a philosophical outlook.
rlm@117 281
rlm@117 282 - Bible, Talmud, Koran
rlm@117 283 - Read them whether or not you believe them!
rlm@117 284 - Be sure to read between the lines, and you can discover what
rlm@117 285 people were actually thinking back then.
rlm@117 286 - Very interesting documents!
rlm@117 287 - [[http://jhom.com/topics/voice/bat_kol_bab.htm][Bava Metzia 59b]] is an interesting story!
rlm@117 288
rlm@120 289
rlm@120 290 * Selected works by Sussman
rlm@120 291
rlm@122 292 - [[http://groups.csail.mit.edu/mac/users/gjs/6946/sicm-html/book.html][SICM (Structure and Interpretation of Classical Mechanics)]] This is
rlm@120 293 the textbook of [[http://groups.csail.mit.edu/mac/users/gjs/6946/][6.946]], a class in Classical Mechanics that Sussman
rlm@120 294 generally teaches in the Fall.
rlm@120 295 - ISBN: 9780262194556
rlm@120 296 - [[http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/structure-and-interpretation-classical-mechanics][MIT Press]]
rlm@120 297
rlm@120 298 - [[http://mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/][SICP (Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs)]] This is
rlm@120 299 the textbook of the (no longer offered) [[http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-science/6-001-structure-and-interpretation-of-computer-programs-spring-2005/][6.001]] introductory
rlm@120 300 Computer Science class at MIT. It's a classic!
rlm@120 301 - ISBN: 0-262-01077-1
rlm@120 302
rlm@120 303 - [[http://www.schemers.org/Documents/Standards/R5RS/HTML/][R5RS (Revised^5 Report on the Algorithmic Language Scheme)]]
rlm@120 304 Spec. for the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scheme_%28programming_language%29][scheme]] computer language. Sussman is very proud of
rlm@122 305 the short length of this document compared to the specifications
rlm@120 306 for most other computer languages. It's based on the [[http://www.masswerk.at/algol60/report.htm][Revised
rlm@120 307 Report on the Revised Report on the Algorithmic Language Algol 60]]
rlm@120 308
rlm@120 309 - [[http://groups.csail.mit.edu/mac/users/gjs/6946/calculus-indexed.pdf][Functional Differential Geometry]] Treatment of functional
rlm@120 310 differential geometry in the classic SIC[M/P] style.
rlm@120 311
rlm@115 312 * For Fun
rlm@122 313 - [[http://prce.hu/w/TAAP.html][Time's Arrow and Archimedes' Point]], by Huw Price
rlm@115 314 - ISBN: 0195117980
rlm@122 315 - A reasonable philosopher!
rlm@115 316
rlm@115 317 - [[http://www.phys.ufl.edu/~cmw/wer.html][Was Einstein Right? : Putting General Relativity To The Test]], by
rlm@115 318 Clifford M. Will
rlm@115 319 - ISBN: 0465090869
rlm@115 320
rlm@115 321 - [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stranger_in_a_Strange_Land][Stranger in a Strange Land]], by Robert A. Heinlein
rlm@115 322 - ISBN: 0441790348
rlm@115 323
rlm@115 324 - [[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/729][Hackers, Heroes of the Computer Revolution]], by Steven Levy
rlm@115 325 - ISBN: 1449388396
rlm@115 326 - Accuracy is not too good - people's names are spelled wrong, for
rlm@115 327 example.
rlm@115 328 - But the /feelings/ are exactly right! This book really captures
rlm@115 329 what it was like to be in the AI lab back in the good old days.