Lem is easily my favorite science fiction author. His intelligence, breadth, and sense of humor are unsurpassed in the genre and rarely found in any writer.
Anybody with a math or software bent that hasn't read his "Cyberiad" should rush out and buy/download a copy right now.
Agree. It's a fantastic book. The "Electronic Bard" (one of the stories in the Cyberiad) is one of my all time favorites. It features a computer that learns to write poetry. (The translation is masterful, too). Don't read it while drinking coffee as you will snort it out your nose. It's brilliant and wise and you're right -- few writers match Lem.
Anybody with a math or software bent that hasn't read his "Cyberiad" should rush out and buy/download a copy right now.