[antipurist]

I find it funny that the author dislikes "casting magic spells", and yet cherishes the book which states that we conjure the spirits of the computer with our spells.

What I don't find funny is that people keep suggesting SICP instead of a much more digestible How to Design Programs — https://htdp.org/

[zelphirkalt]

I only looked at the beginning of HtdP, so I cannot say a lot about it and maybe that fact l, that Scheme was sort of new to me when I worked with SICP also had a part in it, but: I found SICP beautifully written as well. That John Locke quote at the beginning? I thought it sounds like a philosophical quote, and then I saw the name under it: "It really is by a philosopher! By John Locke! WTF!" and it fits the content of the book so perfectly.

I did not get the same feeling at the beginning of HtdP.

[inimino]

The difference is whether you are the one conjuring the spirits by writing your own spell, or whether you are the one casting the spells that others have npmed.