Books that changed my career as a software engineer
The one thing that I find is not helpful, is the “litmus test” approach.<p>i.e. “You are a bad programmer&#x2F;engineer&#x2F;scientist&#x2F;person, because you did not read this book, or know this technique.” Thing.<p>I see this frequently. As a [mostly] self-taught software developer, I’ve been on the receiving end of a lot of this behavior.<p>In my case, I have a real “Oh yeah? I’ll show you!” streak. I became expert at stuff, simply because some e-bully told me I was bad at it (because they were the only ones fit to judge others).<p>Not everyone has that kind of stubbornness. I suspect that a hell of a lot of truly gifted folks never realized their passions, and that our industry has been robbed of significant talent, as a result.<p>Maybe I’m looking at the past with rose-colored glasses, or I was fortunate to run into the people I did, but I don’t recall encountering a lot of this behavior, when I was getting started. I needed a lot of help and nurturing, when I was younger, until I reached the confidence level required to have an “Oh yeah?” response. I’m grateful that I got it.<p><i>&quot;A new idea is delicate. It can be killed by a sneer or a yawn; it can be stabbed to death by a joke or worried to death by a frown on the right person&#x27;s brow.&quot; 
-Charles Browder</i>