HN Explorer

Ask HN: Best CS refresher material online?

9 points by lesiki ↗ HN
Recently I've been looking for a good "refresher" for the CS theory I learnt at university - in particular the theoretical, slower-changing stuff that we had to learn but rarely apply in a web programming career.

What sparked it was actually an episode of University Challenge where there was a mention of Byzantine Generals - I haven't heard that mentioned in about 18 years!

Though any professional development I get from this is a bonus, my main motivation is just intellectual curiosity & the desire to re-explore these concepts that I slowly forgot through disuse over the years. As a result, material that is captivating and fun is a strong bonus.

Any books, podcasts, youtube channels, online courses HN would recommend?

6 comments

[ 3.4 ms ] story [ 22.0 ms ] thread
brudgers
Does it need to be the best? Or would good enough be good enough? What suits you best might not suit someone else at all. On the other hand, there are are many CS courses archived on Youtube and tons of old textbooks in circulation.

And of course, you can always buy a boxed set of TAoCP. It will probably keep you busy for awhile. Good luck.

lesiki
Sure, it's a valid nitpick.

My intended meaning was "What is your favourite CS refresher material available online", and agree that the answers will be subjective.

brudgers
Not trying to nitpick. Trying to get you from shopping mode to doing the hard work of learning mode.

I mean here’s the BG paper: https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/322186.322188

lesiki
With that out of the way, curious whether you have an answer? What is your favourite CS refresher material that is available online?
brudgers
TAoCP in print. It’s the fixed point for CS.