Definitely. I'm working through TAOCP, and the exercises in that book are incredibly useful in stretching your brain in ways that day-to-day coding simply will not.
That said, I think the reason that I enjoy Knuth so much is that he is a mathematician; admittedly, I'm biased, as my formal education background is rooted in mathematics as well. The nice thing about this is that Knuth not only knows what he is talking about, but that he doesn't tend to skip fundamental steps. Nor does he play the notation games that are so often found in computer science texts.
Speaking of 'notation games', why do they use 'equals' for 'set inclusive'?
So, yes, to learn how to program in language X, the Internet is probably a better resource than the average book. But to learn how to program well, a proper bookshelf is invaluable.
That said, I think the reason that I enjoy Knuth so much is that he is a mathematician; admittedly, I'm biased, as my formal education background is rooted in mathematics as well. The nice thing about this is that Knuth not only knows what he is talking about, but that he doesn't tend to skip fundamental steps. Nor does he play the notation games that are so often found in computer science texts.
Speaking of 'notation games', why do they use 'equals' for 'set inclusive'?
So, yes, to learn how to program in language X, the Internet is probably a better resource than the average book. But to learn how to program well, a proper bookshelf is invaluable.