My three children

Yes, that's really a copy of Head First C# you see there... and yes, that means it's really out, completed, shipping towards your local B&N and Borders and piling up somewhere at Amazon.com.

I thought it appropriate to have my kids holding it for two reasons... one, we want everyone to learn C#. Is it too advanced for my five-year old? Yeah, probably so... but if you're reading this blog, I'd bet you're ready for learning C#, even if you're new to programming, new to Microsoft, or new to Head First. And, second, I saw the inside of that book at least as much as my kids these last few months, so fitting to have them all together here.

Enjoy!

Posted by Brett McLaughlin on Wednesday, Nov 28 Permalink | Comments (5)

Right- and left-brained learning

In Head First Land, we aim to provide "learning for the way your brain works." Sounds good, right? We know how your brain works.

But the dirty little secret is that we really have no idea how your brain works.

Maybe you learn best through well-written textual explanations. Or maybe, for you, a picture is literally worth a thousand words, and you learn best from diagrams and illustrations of concepts. Are you one of those people who insists on reading a magazine from front to back, and wouldn't think of skipping an article. Or would you rather flip through the glossy pages aimlessly until you hit on something that strikes your interest?

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Posted by Sanders Kleinfeld on Tuesday, Nov 27 Permalink | Comments (5)

More on Hello World

It's been interesting to see what a strong reaction I received to my recent post on Hello, World (you might want to read that post and then come back here if you didn't catch it the first time around). While I expected varied opinions, I worried that many of the comments indicate I didn't make my point clearly enough.

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Posted by Brett McLaughlin on Monday, Nov 26 Permalink | Comments (2)

Online Materials for C# and Beyond

While we have a short week here in the US Head First office due to the Thanksgiving holiday, we're not quite ready for turkey yet. In addition to the finishing touches we're putting on Head First Software Development and Head First JavaScript, I'm personally responsible for getting all the Head First C# code together for your learning pleasure (you can see a sneak preview here). We're trying something a little different this time: Instead of just making the code available for download, we're also making it viewable online, appropriately formatted (like the DinnerParty).

I've got some questions for you, Head First readers:

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Posted by Caitrin McCullough on Wednesday, Nov 21 Permalink | Comments (7)

A Head First-y Reading List

Since you're currently reading the Head First blog, it's probably a fairly safe bet that you're eagerly awaiting the release of one or more of our holiday titles: Head First C#, Head First JavaScript, and Head First Software Development.

But to tide you over till then, we've compiled a list of some of our favorite recent reads that inspire us and embody the Head First spirit of learning that engages your brain and keeps you coming back for more. Check out these great titles that run the gamut from game design to fiction writing.

And drop us a comment here to let us know your favorite Head First-y books. We'd love to hear what books inspire and engage you, too.

Posted by Sanders Kleinfeld on Tuesday, Nov 20 Permalink | Comments (2)

I hate Hello, World

I'm a programmer. Despite being an editor and author, husband, dad, etc., etc., I really started out in "real life" as a programmer, and it still largely defines me. Even though I'm not writing code every single day for 8 hours (I do write code most every day, just not a ton of it), and even though I'm rarely up past midnight unless I'm trying to virtually assassinate someone who might play a role in the Crusades or catching up on what Detective Charlie Crews has been doing with his free time, I still keep my eye on the development world, and development books.

And I really, really, really hate Hello World examples.

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Posted by Brett McLaughlin on Monday, Nov 19 Permalink | Comments (7)

Fly away, fly away, Head First C#

One of my jobs as series editor here in Head First land is to balance what everyone wants (can you say a Head First book a month, every month, forever?) with what's really going on (2 books released this year so far). Along those lines, the most frequent question I get is "When will Head First [insert something compelling and difficult to you here] be out?" I always have to answer those questions with great caution. So today, I want to answer the burning question, "When will Head First C# be out?"

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Posted by Brett McLaughlin on Friday, Nov 16 Permalink | Comments (2)

One Laptop Per Learner

Nicholas Negroponte's incredible, buzzworthy nonprofit, one laptop per child, whose goal is to supply free, energy-efficient laptop computers to all children in the developing world, is having a special 2007 holiday promotion: Give One. Get One. If you donate a laptop to a child through the program, you'll receive one of your very own.

Yes, they look like plastic toys, but these laptops will change children's lives—opening up educational resources and vast avenues of possibility for students in even the most cash-strapped, remote villages in the world. Check out what's available on these Linux-based machines:

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Posted by Sanders Kleinfeld on Thursday, Nov 15 Permalink | Comments (0)

Did You Hear?

Kathy Sierra (co-creator of the Head First Series) provided a Keynote Presentation, and Workshop at the O'Reilly sponsored 2007 Web 2.0 Expo Berlin this week.

Although I was unable to attend 2.0 Berlin, there were quite a few individuals that blogged and commented on her presentations.

I've been following Kathy's presentations online and figured I'd collect some of the most informative links for our readers.

Continue reading "Did You Hear?" »

Posted by Catherine Nolan on Wednesday, Nov 14 Permalink | Comments (0)

Want to learn more? Forget It!

As I've so often suspected, keeping too much information in your head at one time is a good way to discourage further learning. A recent study from Stanford University helps confirm my suspicion. Using MRI scans, scientists found that those who best remembered specifically selected word pairs from a larger list of words had the hardest time recalling any other words on the list. The scientists concluded that the more effectively you filter out relevant from irrelevant data, and "suppress" less important information in order to "make room for" the more important stuff, the better your long-term recall of the "important" stuff will be. As a result, skill at selective memory suppression results in less cognitive overload and, therefore, better retention of essentials and overall faster thinking capability.

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Posted by Keith McNamara on Tuesday, Nov 13 Permalink | Comments (0)

What price MySpace?

I was talking to a friend of mine last night about BBSes—she was an early user; I ran one out of my basement thanks to my parents' generous donation of a second phone line and a 2400 baud modem. (She likes to say, "We were on the internet before there was an internet!") This might be old news to most of you, but this conversation was the first time I realized that I—at 27—am the last generation (at least in the United States) that remembers what life was like before the Internet. It's changed our lives in so many ways that I take for granted, for example:

• I can't remember the last time I used a paper map or phone book.
• Holiday shopping is no longer a nightmarish prospect thanks to online wishlists.
• I'm starting to worry I know more about my father's medical condition than his doctors.

Continue reading "What price MySpace?" »

Posted by Caitrin McCullough on Monday, Nov 12 Permalink | Comments (1)

Making the connection

I'm so completely fascinated by how we get the learning principles that science tells us about into books... but also as to how common phenomenon in life translate into books, as well. Case in point: I've been really working on listening to a piece of music, and then playing that piece of music. And I suck at it. I mean, I'm a guitar player, for crying out loud, been playing for over a decade, but I can easily spend an hour on a 10-note phrase. So what gives?

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Posted by Brett McLaughlin on Friday, Nov 9 Permalink | Comments (4)

The brain is a camera

We're all about visuals here at Head First. Everything we know, as in we at Head First, and we, as in humans, says that visuals get the brain's attention.
There's an ease of remembrance inherent in photos, images, and especially drawings. I don't know why that is, but I do know that it is.

And it's interesting how inherent seeing can become to doing. Case in point... my five year old, who I must say is a bit prodigious, recently drew this picture (click on it see the full version). So what's the point, other than showing off what my kid is drawing?

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Posted by Brett McLaughlin on Thursday, Nov 8 Permalink | Comments (1)

Your very own mail-order cylon

The lede from from a Computerworld article from Saturday:

An artificial intelligence researcher predicts that robotics will make such dramatic advances in the coming years that humans will be marrying robots by the year 2050.

Robots will become so human-like -- having intelligent conversations, displaying emotions and responding to human emotions -- that they'll be very much like a new race of people, said David Levy, a British artificial intelligence researcher whose book, "Love and Sex with Robots," will be released on Nov. 6.

As delightful as Levy's prognostications sound, may I also recommend a slightly different perspective?

(Thanks to Mark Brokering via the O'Reilly editors list for the link)

Posted by Sanders Kleinfeld on Wednesday, Nov 7 Permalink | Comments (0)

What's your geek-chic quotient?

That was a headline in last Sunday's Boston Globe Ideas Section.

So I read a little further. And to my surprise an O'Reilly colleague, Mark Frauenfelder, was mentioned in the article. In addition to being the editor-in-chief of the fantastic O'Reilly Property Make Magazine (check it out if you haven't seen it already), Mark is also a co-editor at boingboing and speaks about some of the funnier items that were part of the boingboing geek-chic iconography quiz. The quiz isn't available online, it was only in the printed newspaper, but there's an audio slideshow regarding the images in the quiz here.

Enjoy - I had no idea that character popsicles were so trendy!

Posted by Catherine Nolan on Tuesday, Nov 6 Permalink | Comments (0)

Indexed.com

This site is a little project that lets me make fun of some things and sense of others. I use it to think a little more relationally without resorting to doing actual math. - Jessica Hage

Today's blog post is featuring one of the many graphs Jessica Hage of Indexed has created (She has a book coming out in February 2008).

Jessica's site reminds me a little bit of some of the graphs that one of our series creators Kathy Sierra used to feature on Creating Passionate Users. Indexed is a great reminder that sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. The graphs run the gambit topic-wise, so have some fun browsing around...and let us know which one is your favorite.

Posted by Catherine Nolan on Monday, Nov 5 Permalink | Comments (0)

We still read for enjoyment

I read to have fun, or for enjoyment, or for entertainment, or perhaps to escape the drudgery of my day. And even if I'm reading non-fiction, or "for learning," I still have to enjoy the book. The writing has to be engaging, or anecdotal, or have some hook that pulls me forward. Otherwise, I get massively bored, and either put the book down, or push through it because I have to. But I hate the process from start to finish.

The same is true in Head First, or a good learning book (The Theory of Fun and Blink come to mind). The problem, at least in Head First in particular, is that I read the same book, for instance Head First C#, about 100 times before the book's done and off to the printer.

But even after 100 times, I still have to enjoy the read.

Continue reading "We still read for enjoyment" »

Posted by Brett McLaughlin on Friday, Nov 2 Permalink | Comments (0)

Yay for teh Internets :-)

Technology is turning us into morons. David Brooks of the New York Times says so in this fabulous, tragicomic column, and he's right. OK, actually to be more accurate and less sensational (because that's what blogging's all about), he merely subtly implies that our reliance on the AI of our electronic baubles fosters a culture of stupidity. But, really, same diff. Here's his thesis:

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Posted by Sanders Kleinfeld on Thursday, Nov 1 Permalink | Comments (1)