Bookshelf Archive

The bookshelf is a work in progress…

• The Second Self: Computers and the Human Spirit
  Sherry Turkle　1984, 2004
  Humans tend to understand technology through the lens of the natural world; and in nature, the closest thing to the computer is the human itself. The spread of personal computing has quietly shifted how we perceive both ourselves and our machines.
  Ever felt stumbling using someone else’s computer? Do you describe yourself as “hard-wired” into your behaviour? How is learning a programming language similar to picking up a foreign tongue? It seems that everyone around the world — adults and children alike — is curiously exploring this same “second self”.

• Crafting Interpreters
  Bob Nystrom　2021　Website
  A delicate little book that develops a programming language, clearly explaining its design and construction. The hand-drawn illustrations and the formatting are beautiful! Even for the non-target audience, it will be worth it to visit the website and have a look at random chapters

• MAEDA@MEDIA
  John Maeda　2000
  A brick-sized portfolio on information design; a precious record of early human attempts to understand computation. From the tofu factory to procedural patterns, reactivity, materials, design spaces, stretching all the way to the scrutiny of the medium itself, the book puts forward the question of “what the computer brings”.
  Amidst the field’s nascence, the author’s searches are almost an attempt to map out its uncharted territory. The weighty accumulation of graphics, text, and manuscripts are not only the trails of inquiry but also a projection of the author’s rich, flowing world of ideas, solidified into the three-dimensional reality.

• Two Hundred Fifty Things an Architect Should Know
  Michael Sorkin　2014, 2021　Text
  When examined closely, the practice of architecture spans an unexpectedly wide body of knowledge. Points of interest can be hidden anywhere: “the smell of concrete after rain”, “the acoustical properties of trees and shrubs”, “woodshop safety”, “darkroom procedures”. This eclectic, almost overwhelming list voices a manifesto to a generalist worldview: to grind one’s craft, the creator must seek hard to understand details beyond the borders, from an engineering parameter to the gems hidden in myriad places, to modern activism, to happiness, fear, and desire, because the implications and responsibilities of architecture are so deeply rooted in the messiness of lived experiences.
  The broader field of design largely resonates with this aspect, also calling for the scope of study to extend, the inquiries to sharpen, and the dots to connect, in order to capture more perspectives of the human experience. If you don’t know how to get lost, you will probably miss a piece in your design.

• The Theory and Technique of Electronic Music
  Miller Puckette　2006　 Text
  An introductory textbook to the principles of digital audio processing, both theoretical and practical, covering all essential knowledge in the field. If you want to learn to wield the magic of vibrating air with computers, this will be a fantastic guide! Familiarity with computer code or music theory in their traditional sense is not a prerequisite; basic mathematical knowledge will lead the reader all the way riding sound waves. The author is also the creator of Pure Data, the software tool involved in the book.

• Steps to Parnassus (Gradus ad Parnassum)
  Johann Joseph Fux　1725　Text (English translation)　Text (original)
  A tutorial on counterpoint, based on the Renaissance stile antico. In a progressive dialogue form, it introduces the fundamental rules of counterpoint music of 2 to 4 parts, while also explaining the underlying principles and reasonings. This work has a far-reaching impact; its core ideas (including voice leading, voice independence, and harmonic balance) laid the basis for later classical harmonic theories. The knowledge here, along with the precious remarks of experience on musical perception and writing, also remain directly applicable across genres of composition.
  The original work comprises two books. Mann’s English translation covers only the early chapters of the second (liber secundus), discussing species counterpoint. The first book introduces the mathematical, rational principles of tones and intervals, known as speculative music (musica speculativa). It is a rigorous, mathematical, and philosophical perspective, serving as a metaphysical foundation for the practical applications of harmony that follow.

• Lion’s Snack (ライオンのおやつ)
  小川糸　2019
  —— TODO? ——

• Invisible Cities (Le città invisibili)
  Italo Calvino　1972
  —— TODO? ——