The Art of Doing Science and Engineering

“Your last chance to read the words of thinking of one of the major intellects that the USA has produced.”—Eugene N. Miya, NASA researcher“Hamming is here to tell you about excellence. His lessons unfold through personal stories of discovery and failure—life as an extraordinary scientist. But Hamming demands that you do extraordinary work, too, and for that he offers the best advice I know.”—Andy Matuschak, software engineer, designer, and researcher“Hamming was always as much a teacher as a scientist, and having spent a lifetime forming and confirming a theory of great people, he felt he could prepare the next generation for even greater greatness. That’s the premise and promise of this book.”—Bret Victor, founder of Dynamicland, designer, and engineer

Richard W. Hamming (1915-1998) was a scientist and mathematician whose work inspired a generation of engineers, scientists, and researchers. He is best known for discovering mathematical formulas that allow computers to correct their own errors, a fundamental function of modems, compact disks, and satellite communications. Born in Chicago in 1915, he provided crucial programming support as a member of the Manhattan Project. After World War II, he joined Bell Labs, where over the next 15 years he was involved in nearly all of its most prominent achievements. He later taught and lectured at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. Throughout his career, Hamming received many awards for his work, including the Turing Award in 1968, the highest honour in computer science. In 1988, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers created the Richard W. Hamming Medal in his honor, of which he was the first recipient.