- CS:APP (Computer Systems: A Programmer's Perspective), as someone who didn't go to college, this made me feel like I knew the systems inside out and it was no longer magic.
- SICP (Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs), this one is controversial, but getting to the end and actually building the interpreter made me see that seemingly complex programs like compilers and interpreters are just other programs and quite similar to the ones that I was used to writing. The other effect of this on me was learning about powerful abstractions. It felt smooth to follow along and build the interpreter because the abstractions in the book followed a logical progression. I want the other complex programs I write to seem just as simple.
- Software Foundations: Logical Foundations. Writing programs as proofs was fascinating. It felt like mathematical mumbo jumbo before but actually trying it out removed the magic and it became more obvious how programs and formal proofs could go hand-in-hand. The impact of this book wasn't as generic as the other two. Maybe one benefit of seeing programs as proofs is that by trying to write programs that can be proved easily, we write programs that are actually simple to reason about and explain to someone else.
If you can represent Element in court, please do. Privacy is too important to give up to technical incompetence in government decisions. You can ask help from orgs such as IFF (which helped lift the ban on VLC).