“Can we teach ourselves how to think in a way that will allow paradigm-shifting understandings and insights to emerge?
The Art of Doing Science and Engineering fully expresses what “You and Your Research” outlined. It’s a book about thinking, more specifically, a style of thinking by which great ideas are conceived. Richard Hamming said we can and first inspired a generation of engineers, scientists, and researchers in 1986 with “You and Your Research,”; an electrifying sermon on why some scientists do great work, why most don’t, why he did, and why you should, too
Hamming repeatedly refers to Shannon’s information theory, Einstein’s relativity, Grace Hopper’s work on high-level programming, Kaiser’s work on digital fillers, and his own error-correcting codes. He also recounts a number of his spectacular failures as clear examples of what to avoid. The book is full of stories of great people performing mighty deeds, but they are not meant to simply be admired, but to be aspired to, learned from, and surpassed
This edition of a book that was first released in 1996 and was adapted from a course that Hamming taught at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School features an entirely new foreword written by Bret Victor, a designer, engineer, and the creator of Dynamicland, as well as more than 70 newly created graphs and charts.
Hamming was as much a teacher as a scientist, having spent a lifetime formulating and confirming a theory of great people; he prepared the next generation for even greater greatness. The Art of Doing Science and Engineering is a reminder that a childlike capacity for learning and creativity is accessible to everyone.”
