Inspired by Duncan Graham’s canon, and transitively, by David Cole’s, here is a list of people and works that have inspired me. Individually beautiful and interesting; together they make me who I am.
Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs (and Classical Mechanics) — I somehow discovered SICP at around the same time as Gödel, Escher, Bach (must have found a list of classics online). Though it’s an introductory book, it goes deep.
Richard Feynman — For his tireless push to simplify and understand (then explain). “Surely you’re Joking” is a template for living a good life while doing good, intellectual work. Also great: What Problems to Solve.
Calvin & Hobbes — My favorite comic ever. I think every reader saw themselves in Calvin, his imagination and refusal to follow the rules. Credit to Bill Watterson for creating consistently great content and ending the strip before the content ever got stale.
Visual Complex Analysis — This book takes an intimidating subject, tells you to ignore the equations and focus on the intuition. Wonderful visualizations. This is what I’m all about.