Think Complexity
by Allen B. Downey · first published 2012
69% recommend31% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Clear, approachable intro to complexity science and algorithms using Python, praised for its accessible style, free availability, and coverage of data structures in a complex-systems context. Suits programmers.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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…books: Check out http://www.greenteapress.com/ including: Think Python : http://www.greenteapress.com/thinkpython/thinkpython.html Think Bayes : http://www.greenteapress.com/thinkbayes/index.html Think Complexity : http://www.greenteapress.com/complexity/index.html Think Stats : http://www.greenteapress.com/thinkstats/index.html
on “The Little Book of Semaphores” ↗Think Python, Think Complexity, and Think Statistics are all really excellent. Downey is an artist of CS pedagogy.
on “Green Tea Press: Free Books by Allen B. Downey” ↗Allen Downey (author of the above) has a number of books on computer science-y things. You can buy hardcopies but I think all of them are also just freely available. Here's a few: Think Complexity https://github.com/AllenDowney/ThinkComplexity2 Think DSP https://github.com/AllenDowney/ThinkDSP Think Stats https://github.com/AllenDowney/ThinkStats/ Think Bayes https://github.com/AllenDowney/ThinkBayes2/
on “Think Linear Algebra” ↗…prolific writer, and very generous for offering many of them for free. I read several of them online or through O'Reilly, and bought printed copies just to appreciate his work. Really enjoyed Think DSP, Think Complexity, Think Bayes, etc. [1] https://www.amazon.com/stores/Allen-Downey/author/B001O8NBPS
on “Think Linear Algebra” ↗…computation). It's absolutely critical that you complete every exercise provided. Programming basics: - How to Think Like A Computer Scientist - http://www.greenteapress.com/thinkpython/thinkpython.html - Think Complexity - http://greenteapress.com/complexity/thinkcomplexity.pdf - SICP - http://mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/ --- Web/Development basics: - Team Treehouse modules on git, shell commands, DNS, etc -http://teamtreehouse.com…
on “A New Codecademy” ↗…of Mathematics maintains a list of approved open-source textbooks. https://aimath.org/textbooks/approved-textbooks/ I also like the (free) Green Tea Press books: Think Stats, Think Bayes, Think DSP, Think Complexity, Modeling and Simulation in Python, Think Python 2e: How To Think Like a Computer Scientist https://greenteapress.com/wp/ And IDK how many times I've recommended the book for the OCW "Mathematics for…
on “Free and Open-Source Mathematics Textbooks” ↗I'm a big fan of the author's other books, Think Python and Think Complexity (haven't had the time for Think Stats), I found them more understandable than most other books that purport to teach people of the same skill level. I'm hoping this will be as good, but all the negative…
on “Think Bayes - Bayesian Statistics Made Simple” ↗…good - "Crucial Conversations" - half is common sense; half is good tips to practice everyday. [PROGRAMMING] - "Fluent Python" - was afraid it'd be too basic, but not really. Enjoyed it a lot. - "Think Complexity" - about algorithm complexity, data structures, etc. Great read. - "Python Data Science Handbook" - meh. - "Fundamentals of Deep Learning" - good intro. Helped me solidify some concepts from Andrew…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?” ↗The Green Tea Press books are great; and free. Think Python: How To Think Like a Computer Scientist http://www.greenteapress.com/thinkpython/thinkpython.html Think Complexity: Exploring Complexity Science with Python : http://www.greenteapress.com/compmod/ Think Stats: Probability and Statistics for Programmers : http://www.greenteapress.com/thinkstats/index.html
on “Ask HN: Intermediate Python learning resources?” ↗Since you have a physics background, you might be interested in this book: Think Complexity http://www.greenteapress.com/compmod/ The book teaches concepts of Algorithm and Data Structure in the context of Complex System Sciences. Though it's a bit light-weight, but it might be a good starting…
on “Ask HN: Help... I just can't get excited about data structures.” ↗…of free programming books [0]. Many of the books at Green Tea Press[1] are available for free: - Think Python: How To Think Like a Computer Scientist - Think Bayes: Bayesian Statistics in Python - Think Complexity: Exploring Complexity Science with Python - Think Stats: Probability and Statistics for Programmers - The Little Book of Semaphores - Physical Modeling in MATLAB - Learning Perl the Hard Way few…
on “Ask HN: What are your recommended reads that are available for free?” ↗You mentioned getting to grips with complexity analysis. Has she looked at the book Think Complexity[1]? It seems pretty cool and related to that area of study. [1]: http://greenteapress.com/complexity/
on “Ask HN: What book to read to get a footing in CS theory?” ↗You might want to check out the author's book titled Think Complexity....
on “Programming as a Way of Thinking” ↗The author, Allen B. Downey, also has another free book called Think Complexity. This book is about complexity science, data structures and algorithms, intermediate programming in Python, and the philosophy of science: http://www.greenteapress.com/compmod/
on “Free book on Statistics for Programmers” ↗…but would say the intended audience is someone relatively early on their analytic journey and may not serve the interests of the HN reader well. It has a much broader perspective than Allen Downey's "Think Complexity" [1], which is discrete systems (computational systems) focussed. Maybe you could think about Downey's book is a non mathematical approach to algorithms. Scott E Page's book "The Model Thinker" is more…
on “Introduction to the Modeling and Analysis of Complex Systems” ↗