The Tao of Computing

In 1999, the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board of the National Research Council published a booklet, "Being Fluent with Information Technology." The booklet contained a report that identified 10 high-level intellectual capacities, 10 information technology concepts and 10 information technology skills essential for a basic understanding of computer fluency. This book was developed to present and explain those essential topics. Walker does an excellent job in explaining the concepts in a manner that can be comprehended by a beginner. Very little beyond the basic capability of reading is assumed, even middle school children can understand it. A set of discussion questions and a set of exercises are included at the end of each chapter. No solutions to either set are provided. The topics are presented as a series of questions with detailed answers. For example, the questions for chapter 7, "What Can Computers Do For Me?" are: *) What types of problems are computers good at? *) When would a computer's storage and retrieval skills help me? *) How does a computer's computational capabilities help me? *) What else can a computer help me with? *) What do good applications have in common? *) Why can a computer guide astronauts into space but not predict the stock market? *) If computer programs that predict the stock market are unreliable, how can I tell when other computer programs might be giving unreliable results? *) For problems that a computer can solve, what process should I use to get an answer? *) Can some computers solve problems that other computers can't solve? *) What are Turing machines? *) So, what do Turing machines have to do with computers today? *) If all computers are universal, how do they differ? *) How can I decide what machine I should buy? These questions are the subheadings of the chapters in the table of contents, making it easy for the reader to find a particular question that they would like answered. Although there will always be a few holdouts, it is clear that a basic understanding of how computers work and can be used is now an essential life skill. This book provides the means to learn the essentials and it can be used as either a textbook in a formal class or for self-study. I strongly recommend it for both.