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Matthew

picard@bookwyrm.social

Joined 2 years, 1 month ago

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Matthew's books

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Ulisses Almeida: Learn Functional Programming with Elixir (Paperback, 2018, Pragmatic Bookshelf) 5 stars

An introduction to functional programming using the Elixir programming language.

Very good introduction

5 stars

Very interesting, beginner-friendly guide to functional programming and Elixir. What is functional programming, why is it worth learning, and how does Elixir behave.

My main criticism would be the pacing. Almost all of the book is paced well; concepts are not laboured (there's a distinct lack of 'five pages explaining the difference between float and integer'), and it all feels good. Except for one chapter - the 'main' chapter where you build an application - it feels like the pacing is doubled or even tripled. Maybe that is just me being a novice, but I felt that chapter could have been paced as two or three chapters and felt better for me.

But I'd still recommend it - it's a really good book. I think I will probably just need to review that one chapter a few more times before it really sinks in.

Brian Merchant: Blood in the Machine (Hardcover, 2023, Little Brown & Company) 5 stars

The true story of what happened the first time machines came for human jobs, when …

Excellent

5 stars

Book review: Blood in the Machine, by Brian Merchant.

Chant no more your old rhymes about bold Robin Hood, His feats I but little admire. I will sing the achievements of General Ludd, Now the hero of Nottinghamshire.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a rare book which felt like it opened my eyes to something new; almost life-changing in some sense with the shift in perspective. The story of the Luddites and their fight to protect their way of life.

Nowadays of course, we think of a Luddite as a backwards, anti-technology person. Indeed, we use the word as an insult, to describe somebody who doesn't keep up with the times. But this is an excellent example of 'history written by the victors'.

The Luddites had a good, fulfilling way of life - they worked to their own schedule, they spent time with their families. They had a …