"Easy" is about proximity to the subject (As in Rich Hickey's Simple Made Easy). Hard books are any books you aren't ready for, and I don't recommend them either.
One of the learning buzzwords is "Zone of Proximal Development" which basically means the concepts that are 'nearby' what the learner already knows, and can be learned with help.
The author has some keen insights when talking about Familiarity causing recommendation problems. We compress that knowledge down into a very powerful but compact form, and often have a lot of trouble decompressing it when describing something. "What do you mean, 'what is a function?', it's a function, it just is!"
I also agree that sometimes people recommend books, even books they have not read, that make them seem smart, which is often unhelpful. Other books have useful content, but are just badly written. We use them if we have too, but we prefer better writing.
On the other hand, books like Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs are beautiful, useful, amazing works that when explored at the right time, can be eye opening, profound experiences.
A given book may be recommended because it is a simple beautiful elegant work. Simple doesn't mean easy, that's separate. You have to be ready for the book and its concepts before you can benefit from it fully. A good book can challenge you to understand simple, but deep ideas. A good book can be a lot of work and exploration, and may go slowly. But a good book at the right time will be worth your while.
So hard books are overrated, but maybe that hard overrated book you rejected before may be more approachable today. Keep in mind when recommending texts to others that they may not be ready for the advanced text yet.
One of the learning buzzwords is "Zone of Proximal Development" which basically means the concepts that are 'nearby' what the learner already knows, and can be learned with help.
The author has some keen insights when talking about Familiarity causing recommendation problems. We compress that knowledge down into a very powerful but compact form, and often have a lot of trouble decompressing it when describing something. "What do you mean, 'what is a function?', it's a function, it just is!"
I also agree that sometimes people recommend books, even books they have not read, that make them seem smart, which is often unhelpful. Other books have useful content, but are just badly written. We use them if we have too, but we prefer better writing.
On the other hand, books like Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs are beautiful, useful, amazing works that when explored at the right time, can be eye opening, profound experiences.
A given book may be recommended because it is a simple beautiful elegant work. Simple doesn't mean easy, that's separate. You have to be ready for the book and its concepts before you can benefit from it fully. A good book can challenge you to understand simple, but deep ideas. A good book can be a lot of work and exploration, and may go slowly. But a good book at the right time will be worth your while.
So hard books are overrated, but maybe that hard overrated book you rejected before may be more approachable today. Keep in mind when recommending texts to others that they may not be ready for the advanced text yet.