Ask HN: What are some interesting papers in CS for a beginner?
I suggest Alan Turning's 1950 Computing Machinery and Intelligence.  Many of the ideas first written in this paper are commonly referenced.  It's good to have read the primary source. Do machines think? If you know what a theoretical Turning Machine is you'll have all the prerequisite knowledge. If not you can skip over that part. Do they still teach Turning Machines in Highschool?http://www.loebner.net/Prizef/TuringArticle.html