The Magic of Code – book about the wonders and weirdness of computation

In plain words

The Magic of Code" is a book exploring computation as a humanistic liberal art, connecting computer science to fields like art, biology, philosophy, and language. Written for people curious about computing's broader cultural significance, the book examines the wonder and delight of code rather than focusing on technical implementation. It offers readers—particularly those new to programming—a perspective that situates computational thinking within wider intellectual traditions and demonstrates how coding intersects with fundamental human concerns and creative pursuits.

written from the facts on this page · September 2026

From the sources

The Magic of Code by Samuel Arbesman

The Magic of Code is all about the wonders and weirdness of computation, viewing computing as a humanistic liberal art that touches on everything from language and philosophy to biology and how wefrom themagicofcode.com

In the maker’s words, at launch

I recently published a book called “The Magic of Code” which is about the delights of the computational world, examining computing as a kind of “humanistic liberal art” that connects to so many topics, from art and biology to philosophy and language. The link I’ve shared is to a page on my book’s website where you…

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