A superb book! It traces the origins of 26 facets of modern life so that you can understand the code which underpins them. There's only a smattering of actual code you need to read - most of it is constrained to gorgeous hand-drawn illustrations. Although I got a bit of a shock in the 2nd essay when I was confronted by ξ3 < exp(ΔE/τ)! Thankfully the rest of the chapter does a good job of explaining it and why it is important. There are some amazing confessionals from people who, arguably, ma…
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Wow! What a stunning book. It's a series of short stories - all taking place in a world where gene-editing isn't just legal; it's a sacrament. Each chapter jumps us further into the future. What starts off as an uncertain way to improve the human species gradually becomes more beautiful and more terrifying. Do you lose your virginity if you do it with a reconstructed girl? What life is there for a baby with a genetically enhanced brain? Which of your principles will you sacrifice for the…
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This is a short but interesting look at the way Shakespeare's comedy was understood by his contemporaries - and how his legacy still influences modern comedians. There's a good deal of discussion about the role comedy played in society, and the interplay between actors and playwright would have worked. But, sadly, it never quite makes the leap to demonstrate the way that it changed the world. At best, we get fairly generic sketches like: most of Shakespeare’s witty characters are women. T…
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I'm really late to the party on this one! After people singing the praises of the TV show, and my brother recommending them, I finally cracked and read the first book. It's pretty good! You probably don't need me to tell you that. But, for a book published in 2011, I was surprised at how old-fashioned it felt. It's a bog-standard police procedural. The cop's a drunk with a failed marriage and an obsession with a victim - how many times have we seen that played out? It's also pretty…
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Who "owns" the English language? Do you cringe when you see "centre" spelled (or spelt) "center" (or vice-versa)? Which Americanisms do you think are super awesome? This book asks us a simple question: What if, instead of worrying about the “ruination” of English by young people, jargonistas, or Americans, we celebrated English for being robust enough to allow such growth and variety? Without evolution, languages stagnate and die. Without a vast corpus of work, which responds to changing c…
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I adored Qntm's previous book "There Is No Antimemetics Division". This collection of short stories is just as inventive, and just as thought-provoking. What are the social, moral, and technical implications of uploading a human brain into a computer? Some of the stories are hilariously terrifying - could "you" lose the rights to "your" brain? Others are far too short and could easily be spun out into a series of novels. The writing has a friendlier and more accessible style than…
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It's only part-way through the first chapter that you realise that this is all true! There really was a Premonitions Bureau running in the UK (albeit under the auspices of sensationalist reporters). People gave serious study to the idea that some people could foretell specific tragedies before they occurred. Books were written, television interviews were given, national campaigns were run. And in the end... Nothing. This is the story of mental health failings across the board. Not just in…
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I usually don't like reading endless sequels of sci-fi books - but I'll make a gleeful exception for Anne Currie's "Panopticon" series. What if the METAVERSE but IN SPACE! With a MURDER! C'mon, how can you not love that? At its heart is a classic Asimov mystery. Why would a robot kill a human? It is mixed in with a deliciously disturbing dystopia ("But I want to be under constant surveillance!") I'm never quite sure whether I would want to live in the world she's created - but I sure do enjoy …
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My wife and I are planning on being DWZ DINK FIRE. That's a lot of letters to say we want to retire early and not leave any money to our non-existent kids. This book is a (slightly shallow) exploration of 26 people on similar journeys. They're all American (or now living in the USA) so it has a slight bias to talking about things like 401(k) and medical bills which are absent in most other parts of the world. The author is a CFP® and, at times, reads a little like an advert for their …
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This is a fluffy and breezy wander through some of the oddities thrown up be evolution. It's also well illustrated and, luckily, most of the picture suit eInk very well. Of great interest to me were the tantalising asides - for example, a formerly enslaved man taught Darwin the art of taxidermy although very little is known about him. The book is full of delightfully distracting details like that. Along with extensive quoting from Darwin, it really helps to contextualise the history of our…
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This is a curious - and slightly unsatisfying - collection of short stories. There's no cohesive theme; some are about space travel, some alien invasion, some about madness on Mars, some about interstellar religions. You bounce around between themes without much chance to reflect on how different authors tackle the same subject. The stories alternate between Chinese authors and English-speaking authors. Again, it feels a little disjointed. Will general audiences not read Chinese sci-fi unless…
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In 1818, Mary Shelley published Frankenstein - setting the stage for modern science fiction. A mere 9 years later, Jane Loudon published "The Mummy!" which, to my mind, becomes one of the earliest works of speculative science fiction. Set in a 22nd Century England which is ruled over by a wise queen, a pair of scientists fly their personal hot-air balloon to Egypt where they use their galvanic battery to re-animate the mummified remains of Cheops. Disaster, naturally, befalls them. The story…
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