You ought to read ...

I'm over it.

I am sociable. I have conversations with people. We discuss many things of mutual interest. And then I express a view on the topic.

"Oh, have you read ...?".

"No."

"You ought to."

And that is that. Because I have not found an easy way to point out something that all the people I talk with  seem not to know.

You can make a list of key books in different disciplines. These books contain ideas and insights that appear to be presented for the very first time by the author.

This is often not the case. The author draws on what is around at the time. But the readers are not aware of that, especially a few years after publication.

So please don't tell me I should read this book about, say,  Object-oriented approach to creating computer systems. The books grew out of best practice by people already in the industry and using the principles even though the tools to make it easier had not yet been created. I mean, Larry Constantine proposed essential elements of the approach in 1973 and professionals in the industry were, on his advice and guidance, using them and refining them long before the later publications on the topic. Larry is still presenting at symposia. He is still leading edge. Listen to him.

Please don't tell me I should read this book on Agile approaches to system development. They were resurrected out of practices put in place in the mid-late '70s. In Australia, Rob Thomsett was a teacher and exponent of such and other development methodologies and these were put in place in a number of Government departments in that country. Rob is still a leader in the Agile field today. Listen to him.

And please don't tell me I should read "Atlas Shrugged". And... and... and...

It is admirable that a person is informed about a field. It is also admirable not to assume that your sources were the originators of the ideas and practices, but the collators and presenters who have a secure grasp of the subject area and have insights into the essentials. It is admirable, in my opinion, if you also know the history of the field and can see the development of that discipline, albeit with Popperian paradigm shifts.

Just check first the experience of the person you are talking with before recommending a book. They may have actually lived through and practiced the pre-cursors to the ideas or practices in the book. They may have been part of the water behind the dam wall or obstruction that added to the spill-over that you know about.

OK. I do really appreciate that I am being offered something in good faith. It's just a case of already been there, already done that, my insights, thoughts and experience already went into the pot with the others.

None of this denies or diminishes the value of the recommendations made by the authors of the books of the type I mention here, nor the value of the contributions made by the authors to the general good. That much I want to make clear.