Michael A. Weinberg

really puts the sci scifi great setup, weak characters, meh voice acting

Revisado: 03-16-25

I love neal stephenson. I like this book! I am a big nerd, however. a real engineer type. character development weak by stephenson’s standards, and plot development is slow as ever. but the attention to detail is awesome and the questions he poses and ideas he offers are simply great.

less exciting than three body problem, less of a curiosity than anathem, but it is a serious take on what would happen if the earth suddenly needed to be abandoned, and for me thats cool

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useful but repetitive and flawed

Revisado: 03-11-25

the author is long winded. this could have been half as long. captain/passenger model is flawed. read it for the valuable perspective but be prepared for tedious writing.

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swedish chef making an infomercial about ai

Revisado: 02-08-25

the narrator injects random fluctuations in tone/inflection and emphasis, which is distracting. the information is ok but feels like a funhouse mirror of reality. literally reflects reality, but the projected image is distorted by exaggeration and personal opinion/hubris.

It is good information and might be worth reading if this field is relevant to you, but i recommend getting a kindle copy and skipping the audiobook.

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like Nick Bosteom but less abstract

Revisado: 12-16-24

this is a good book. everyone in any position of power should read it. any scientist or software engineer should read it. it asks all the right questions. sadly, the answers it provides are unsatisfying. I get the sense that we are *probably* doomed in the long run.

For a good primer, read Nick Bostrom’s paper “The Vulnerable World Hypothesis”.

What IS this book? A discussion of the nature of the emerging technologies of this century. A vision of what could go right and what could go wrong. Spoiler: it is equally easy to imagine things going wrong as it is to imagine things going right, and for better or worse both the good and the bad outcomes could happen simultaneously.

The prose is decent, the ideas are good and clear. The thesis is simple, and the substantion is solid.

probably should be required reading for all seniors in stem degrees AND business degrees AND political science degrees

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

unimpressive collection of essays and anecdotes

Revisado: 09-27-24

the author strays from the subject of the book regularly to go on tangents about other topics he is passionate about. It seems he lacked sufficient content and added a ton of fun opinion to fill pages. Intelligent, yes, but informative? only sort of.

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enlightening, interesting, funny

Revisado: 07-02-24

I write this after my second time hearing the book. the first read is tedious. it just is. it’s stephenson. so it’s always a little tedious at first. there are so many characters and places that it’s easy to get lost. thank god for great voice acting! distinct voice help characters stand out. reading a second time after having read the entire series once through, this book makes a lot more sense and is a lot more interesting!! the reward is there to be had for those who love to understand how great thinkers think, it is subtly funny and its pace is exciting if and only if you accept that the competition for ideas IS the action. in that sense, the pacing is good. i recommend it. imo it is a certain kind of classic, not for everyone, but for some it is brilliant. patience pays off.

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non spiritual distillation of various ancient mindfulness traditions

Revisado: 02-01-24

start with stoicism, add in a bit of the teachings of buddha, christ, lao tze, and subtract the theistic aspects and you get the power of now, a perspective on what causes mental anguish and how to live life without it. this book will offer a path to acceptance, rather than to happiness. it will enable you to be forgiving towards yourself and others, without being a pushover.

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excellent information diminished by uninspired narration

Revisado: 08-25-23

The information in this book is excellent. It’s structured in a reasonably thoughtful way, and it demonstrates the considerable care of the author. Unfortunately, the narration makes it difficult to get through this without zoning out. You pretty much have to listen to it at a higher speed and then rewind it when you miss an important detail. It just goes to slowly otherwise and lacks any sort of emotion or rhythm.

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