7 Jun
2013
7 Jun
'13
10:49 a.m.
-----Original Message-----
From: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org [mailto:cctalk-
bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Fred Cisin
Sent: Wednesday, June 05, 2013 3:18 PM
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
Subject: Re: [cctalk] Old UNIX Systems
Sounds like a sweetheart deal for publishers.
I remember when I was first at university, they changed editions of a (very expensive)
chemistry book partway through my sequence (which was, to be fair, off-sequence as I had
started during summer quarter). I kept using the one I had, because I couldn't afford
to buy the new one and trade-in value of the old one was a joke, of course. I developed a
mapping between the page numbers in the two editions, and NOT ONCE did I find any
difference in the content.
What a scam. And it's a shame for academic institutions to buy into it. At the
University of Washington, a number of instructors have moved to the model of preparing
their own instructional materials and relying less on traditional texts. This helps the
students in two ways: lower cost and lower *weight*. (Load it all up on a tablet and go.)
-- Ian
> 7 years ago, when they discontinued all of
the "advanced"
> programming classes, I was re-assigned to be a librarian. I
> insisted on the library getting Knuth and K&R. The head librarian tried to
veto them, "They are
> WAY TOO OLD! We should only get current
stuff." I pushed it. Hard.
On Wed, 5 Jun 2013, Tony Duell wrote:
So presumably the Enlgish Literature course
manages without any works
by Shakespear. The religeous instruction course manages without a Bible.
Ho-hum...
The English Lit courses do not use the original editions. They use whatever
copy of Hamlet was published within the last 5 years. (He does get reprinted
a lot)
For Shakespeare or Bible, You can (and until my action HAD TO) get an edition
published this year.
Now, if a teacher wants to stick with an older edition or commentary, they
can, by parroting: "It is a CLASSIC WORK IN THE FIELD"
When I waged that battle, I used lots of examples in literature - What's
wrong with an old edition of "Moby Dick"?
What's wrong with an old edition of "Gulliver's Travels"?
I used to use astronomy, but the dissing of Pluto argued in their favor.
So, I switched to
What new has happened in history of the Roman Empire?
Are the dinosaurs no longer extinct?
Has the year 1066 changed much lately?
But, the argument that was most effective was:
"If you won't permit use of older editions, then you must increase the
budget for the library!"
Some months back a local chrity shop (what you
cal la thrift store)
had the 3-volume set (2nd and 3rd editions) in a slip case for \pounds 5.00.
Well, I am not a progranmmer .... But I bought them, of course. I
might even complete reading them one day.
Good.
On your advice, I bought a copy of "Art Of Electronics".
Good books are worthwhile even if for a field on which you have only a
casual interest.
--
Grumpy Ol' Fred cisin at xenosoft.com