This book contains everything you would ever NOT want. Child-murderers and molesters, snuff, incest, descriptive sex scenes, brutal gore and torture. This book contains everything you would ever NOT want. Child-murderers and molesters, snuff, incest, descriptive sex scenes, brutal gore and torture. Yet it all has a point: to show that even with a seemingly benevolent superintelligent AI who is doing its best to serve humanity, it still results in absolute meaninglessness and, in the end, misery. We need to be careful about general AI....more
The first part of the book where he detailed his story of leading Loudcloud/Opsware through times of great distress was exhilarating and inspiring. ThThe first part of the book where he detailed his story of leading Loudcloud/Opsware through times of great distress was exhilarating and inspiring. The rest of the book was well-written, however many of the advice he gives is incredibly specific (ask these questions when interviewing a VP of Sales) while others are incredibly broad (have courage and treat employees well). Other than this, it gives insightful and often unintuitive (this is a good thing) guidelines....more
A great book exploring why society needs moonshots and why you should be the one to make them. I especially enjoyed the Philosophy chapter as well as A great book exploring why society needs moonshots and why you should be the one to make them. I especially enjoyed the Philosophy chapter as well as all the hundreds of examples and mini-stories of moonshots and their founders that are given throughout the book. The author clearly did his research....more
A book quite different from any other. There is basically no character development. The enjoyment of the books comes from the wide range of ideas it tA book quite different from any other. There is basically no character development. The enjoyment of the books comes from the wide range of ideas it touches upon (including religion, the future of humanity, the nature of history, the ruthlessness of politics), how it can make events we generally consider dull really exciting (such as courtroom proceedings and diplomatic negotiations), and how the characters are able to play 6D chess moves on each other. I would venture to say the book is a combination of the sci-fi and philosophy genres with a touch of detective elements. Worth a read....more
Absolutely love the way the book is written. The optimistic way Watney approaches the whole situation, in spite of the possibility of certain death inAbsolutely love the way the book is written. The optimistic way Watney approaches the whole situation, in spite of the possibility of certain death in case any small thing goes wrong, and the way he writes his journal is enlightening....more
It's like Game of Thrones without the murder... but it actually happened. Turns out people can be quite big cunts when money and power are on the lineIt's like Game of Thrones without the murder... but it actually happened. Turns out people can be quite big cunts when money and power are on the line....more