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Re: Re: Print[Plot] vs Print[text,Plot]?

  • To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
  • Subject: [mg88165] Re: [mg88108] Re: Print[Plot] vs Print[text,Plot]?
  • From: "W_Craig Carter" <ccarter at mit.edu>
  • Date: Sun, 27 Apr 2008 04:56:49 -0400 (EDT)
  • References: <fueep7$bai$1@smc.vnet.net> <fuhqvc$rh5$1@smc.vnet.net>

On Fri, Apr 25, 2008 at 5:27 AM, AES <siegman at stanford.edu> wrote:
> In article <fupm41$s4n$1 at smc.vnet.net>, Helen Read <hpr at together.net>
>
>  > There are a *lot* of extremely useful things "New in 6.0" that are very
>  > much worth the effort to learn.
>  >
>
>  Yes, I totally agree.
>

Yes, I think we can all agree

>
>  You and I, I'm afraid, just think differently.
>
>

How dull the world would be if this were not the case.

>
>  --and  can read in the evening, or on my next plane trip, or in the
>  dentist's waiting room, or during a particularly dull meeting
>
>  --and can thereby get an _overview_ --- a _roadmap_ -- a _preview_ ---
>  of these useful new things, to let me know what I need to dig into
>  further to meet my particular, specific needs as a user (and which of
>  these I won't immediately need and can ignore).

I agree there is a need for such a primer. I wonder if the size of the
market would justify the labor and resources of writing it--I don't
know.


I do recall reading the original Wolfram book cover-to-cover to
familiarize myself with the language.   It was this
reading experience that allowed me to abandon my previously familiar
lisp-oriented
symbolic language for Mathematica. One day of concentrated reading allowed me
to attempt things in Mathematica, that I could have easily done in the
language that was
familiar to me.


I don't think Wolfram has any intention to write a physical book for
6.0.  I am of two minds about this: I do think that reflective and
effective reading is best done away from the screen which has too many
distractions; however, I think the habit of reading paper and ink will
continue to diminish and improve our use of resources and eliminate
the need for n-th editions.

In any case, the original Mathematica book probably weighs less than a kilogram,
that I see you can buy for $0.42 a copy.  It still contains a
useful guide for learning the structure on which 6.0 is built; it can
be read in one day. It could be tossed in the recyling bin after a
flight.


W. Craig Carter


PS: I am hoping that my currently immobility, due to a broken leg and
newly installed hardware,  will soon finish.  Becoming more active in
this group has been an effective way to stave off the boredom, and
helped me think about new problems and solutions. I am very far from
being expert, but participating has proved an effective means to
improve my skills and, hopefully for my course that relies heavily on
Mathematica, teach better.  Unfortunately and fortunately, my
impending de-incarceration will jolt me back to my regular three 8
hour/day jobs.


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