I like this book. It is obviously targeted directly to software professionals like myself. It also talks about that mushy brain thing. How could I not like it?

I never really meant to buy this book. I was actually trying to buy a copy of the Agricola board game. Since the store was out of stock when their computer claimed otherwise I received a nice discount on anything in the store. I walked by the computer book shelf and spied the wonderful title Pragmatic Thinking & Learning: Refactor Your Wetware. I knew the author Andy Hunt from Pragmatic Programmer fame. I also just have to buy anything with wetware in the title.

This is one of those books that is actually two books in one. On the one hand, it talks a lot about how the brain works and the latest theories. There are plenty of cool facts to chew on. On the other hand, the book tries to help you become a better software professional by fully utilizing your current brain. No expensive and inconvenient brain transplant surgery required.

There are plenty of other texts out there about how the brain works, why people behave as they do, how to change your learning habits, etc. What this book does is bring it all together and present it to the software professional in language we understand. There is even a handy reference card listing all 48 tips and references to where they are in the book.

You need the reference card because this book is only a starting point. You don’t magically become a better learner after reading it. You have to work at it and the reference card helps you remember the most important points.

What a nice surprise this book turned out to be. It is compact, very readable, Andy Hunt is hilarious, the book is inexpensive and it is loaded with great tips 100% relevant to what I’m doing right now. Can’t get much better than that.