Pedro Domingos
Professor of computer science at UW and author of 'The Master Algorithm'. Into machine learning, AI, data science, and anything that makes me curious.
70+ Book Recommendations by Pedro Domingos
How the World Really Works
Vaclav Smil
"Vaclav Smil is my favorite author."--Bill Gates An essential analysis of the modern science and technology that makes our twenty-first century lives possible--a scientist's investigation into what science really does, and does not, accomplish. We have never had so much information at our fingertips and yet most of us don’t know how the world really works. This book explains seven of the most fundamental realities governing our survival and prosperity. From energy and food production, through our material world and its globalization, to risks, our environment and its future, How the World Really Works offers a much-needed reality check--because before we can tackle problems effectively, we must understand the facts. In this ambitious and thought-provoking book we see, for example, that globalization isn’t inevitable--the foolishness of allowing 70 per cent of the world’s rubber gloves to be made in just one factory became glaringly obvious in 2020--and that our societies have been steadily increasing their dependence on fossil fuels, such that any promises of decarbonization by 2050 are a fairy tale. For example, each greenhouse-grown supermarket-bought tomato has the equivalent of five tablespoons of diesel embedded in its production, and we have no way of producing steel, cement or plastics at required scales without huge carbon emissions. Ultimately, Smil answers the most profound question of our age: are we irrevocably doomed or is a brighter utopia ahead? Compelling, data-rich and revisionist, this wonderfully broad, interdisciplinary guide finds faults with both extremes. Looking at the world through this quantitative lens reveals hidden truths that change the way we see our past, present and uncertain future.The battle against nonsense is never-ending, and Vaclav Smil has waged it longer than most. https://t.co/E2hveaLh22
Woke
Titania McGrath
@tswain555 https://t.co/8cqROC9kJF
How the World Really Works
Vaclav Smil
"Vaclav Smil is my favorite author."--Bill Gates An essential analysis of the modern science and technology that makes our twenty-first century lives possible--a scientist's investigation into what science really does, and does not, accomplish. We have never had so much information at our fingertips and yet most of us don’t know how the world really works. This book explains seven of the most fundamental realities governing our survival and prosperity. From energy and food production, through our material world and its globalization, to risks, our environment and its future, How the World Really Works offers a much-needed reality check--because before we can tackle problems effectively, we must understand the facts. In this ambitious and thought-provoking book we see, for example, that globalization isn’t inevitable--the foolishness of allowing 70 per cent of the world’s rubber gloves to be made in just one factory became glaringly obvious in 2020--and that our societies have been steadily increasing their dependence on fossil fuels, such that any promises of decarbonization by 2050 are a fairy tale. For example, each greenhouse-grown supermarket-bought tomato has the equivalent of five tablespoons of diesel embedded in its production, and we have no way of producing steel, cement or plastics at required scales without huge carbon emissions. Ultimately, Smil answers the most profound question of our age: are we irrevocably doomed or is a brighter utopia ahead? Compelling, data-rich and revisionist, this wonderfully broad, interdisciplinary guide finds faults with both extremes. Looking at the world through this quantitative lens reveals hidden truths that change the way we see our past, present and uncertain future.@JHochderffer We don't have the batteries, so that's pure speculation. Even ignoring that, promises of decarbonization by 2050 are a fairy tale. See: https://t.co/5NtfAXyunn
The War Against Boys
Christina Hoff Sommers
@HRenkel https://t.co/sB4LVgpilR
Panics and Persecutions
Quillette Magazine
@Robert_Robbins https://t.co/0Ddy0HITbG
Automated Planning
Malik Ghallab
Publisher Description@GaryMarcus @AndrewLampinen @pfau @ylecun @KordingLab @bradpwyble @mattlark @YiotaPoirazi @AllenInstitute @Nancy_Kanwisher Where to begin? See refs in Sec. 24.7 of: https://t.co/BSvP7CWH72
How the World Really Works
Vaclav Smil
@imrahulmaddy Read this: https://t.co/sWWGAX6JuS
Irreversible Damage
Abigail Shrier
@mmbronstein @wellingmax @SwipeWright As I said, go to https://t.co/3MgFFPES3U, for example. Or read this book: https://t.co/DqHelvGF3L Or, depending on your attention span, just watch this: https://t.co/c6U6TekvGw
Automated Planning
Malik Ghallab
Publisher Description@ylecun @NotTriggerAtAll @Jake_Browning00 Optimal control and AI/cogsci planning are very different things. See for example: https://t.co/BSvP7CWH72
Exercises for the Feynman Lectures on Physics
Richard Phillips Feynman
This companion to The Feynman Lectures on Physics provides hands-on practice for students to test their knowledge and abilities through physics problems ranging from Newtonian mechanics through relativity and quantum mechanics. Original. 15,000 first printing.@michal_chren @xiaowang1984 @ravi_nuxoll https://t.co/IIds1JHsAh
Elements of Information Theory
Thomas M. Cover
The latest edition of this classic is updated with new problem sets and material The Second Edition of this fundamental textbook maintains the book's tradition of clear, thought-provoking instruction. Readers are provided once again with an instructive mix of mathematics, physics, statistics, and information theory. All the essential topics in information theory are covered in detail, including entropy, data compression, channel capacity, rate distortion, network information theory, and hypothesis testing. The authors provide readers with a solid understanding of the underlying theory and applications. Problem sets and a telegraphic summary at the end of each chapter further assist readers. The historical notes that follow each chapter recap the main points. The Second Edition features: * Chapters reorganized to improve teaching * 200 new problems * New material on source coding, portfolio theory, and feedback capacity * Updated references Now current and enhanced, the Second Edition of Elements of Information Theory remains the ideal textbook for upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses in electrical engineering, statistics, and telecommunications.@HeywoodFloyd10 @nntaleb They were my go-to physics book in undergrad.
The Feynman Lectures on Physics, boxed set
Richard P. Feynman
"The whole thing was basically an experiment," Richard Feynman said late in his career, looking back on the origins of his lectures. The experiment turned out to be hugely successful, spawning a book that has remained a definitive introduction to physics for decades. Ranging from the most basic principles of Newtonian physics through such formidable theories as general relativity and quantum mechanics, Feynman's lectures stand as a monument of clear exposition and deep insight. Now, we are reintroducing the printed books to the trade, fully corrected, for the first time ever, and in collaboration with Caltech. Timeless and collectible, the lectures are essential reading, not just for students of physics but for anyone seeking an introduction to the field from the inimitable Feynman.@HeywoodFloyd10 @nntaleb They were my go-to physics book in undergrad.
Ethics
Barbara MacKinnon
Explore the major perspectives in ethical theory and a broad range of contemporary moral debates with MacKinnon/Fiala's ETHICS: THEORY AND CONTEMPORARY ISSUES, 9th Edition. Illuminating overviews and a selection of readings from traditional and contemporary sources make even complex philosophical concepts reader-friendly. Important Notice: Media content referenced within the product description or the product text may not be available in the ebook version.As a favor to the AI ethics folks, here's an Ethics 101 textbook they might want to read. (On the other hand, maybe they're not interested.) https://t.co/vQNuQ73mzm
Unsettled
Steven E. Koonin
@Cocozitu11 https://t.co/VNdAX8lIrC
How the World Really Works
Vaclav Smil
If only kids learned this in school instead of wokeism. https://t.co/iE1o9T0odu
How the World Really Works
Vaclav Smil
"Vaclav Smil is my favorite author."--Bill Gates An essential analysis of the modern science and technology that makes our twenty-first century lives possible--a scientist's investigation into what science really does, and does not, accomplish. We have never had so much information at our fingertips and yet most of us don’t know how the world really works. This book explains seven of the most fundamental realities governing our survival and prosperity. From energy and food production, through our material world and its globalization, to risks, our environment and its future, How the World Really Works offers a much-needed reality check--because before we can tackle problems effectively, we must understand the facts. In this ambitious and thought-provoking book we see, for example, that globalization isn’t inevitable--the foolishness of allowing 70 per cent of the world’s rubber gloves to be made in just one factory became glaringly obvious in 2020--and that our societies have been steadily increasing their dependence on fossil fuels, such that any promises of decarbonization by 2050 are a fairy tale. For example, each greenhouse-grown supermarket-bought tomato has the equivalent of five tablespoons of diesel embedded in its production, and we have no way of producing steel, cement or plastics at required scales without huge carbon emissions. Ultimately, Smil answers the most profound question of our age: are we irrevocably doomed or is a brighter utopia ahead? Compelling, data-rich and revisionist, this wonderfully broad, interdisciplinary guide finds faults with both extremes. Looking at the world through this quantitative lens reveals hidden truths that change the way we see our past, present and uncertain future."Any promises of decarbonization by 2050 are a fairy tale. For example, each ... tomato has ... 5 tablespoons of diesel embedded in its production, and we have no way of producing steel, cement or plastics at required scales without huge carbon emissions." https://t.co/5NtfAXgl9f
The Case Against Reality
Donald D. Hoffman
@92333G https://t.co/W2wymNIPCJ
The Master Algorithm
Pedro Domingos
A spell-binding quest for the one algorithm capable of deriving all knowledge from data, including a cure for cancer Society is changing, one learning algorithm at a time, from search engines to online dating, personalized medicine to predicting the stock market. But learning algorithms are not just about Big Data - these algorithms take raw data and make it useful by creating more algorithms. This is something new under the sun: a technology that builds itself. In The Master Algorithm, Pedro Domingos reveals how machine learning is remaking business, politics, science and war. And he takes us on an awe-inspiring quest to find 'The Master Algorithm' - a universal learner capable of deriving all knowledge from data.@seanmcbride Chapter 3 of "The Master Algorithm".
The Art of Insubordination
Todd B. Kashdan
Useful book. https://t.co/zrOlvUoPuC
The Case Against Reality
Donald D. Hoffman
@s_batzoglou https://t.co/W2wymNIPCJ
Zero to One
Peter Thiel
The billionaire Silicon Valley entrepreneur behind such companies as PayPal and Facebook outlines an innovative theory and formula for building the companies of the future by creating and monopolizing new markets instead of competing in old ones. 200,000 first printing.Best books to read if you're doing a startup: "Zero to One", by Peter Thiel "The Lean Startup", by Eric Ries "The Art of the Start", by Guy Kawasaki "Hooked", by Nir Eyal
The Lean Startup
Eric Ries
Outlines a revisionist approach to management while arguing against common perceptions about the inevitability of startup failures, explaining the importance of providing genuinely needed products and services as well as organizing a business that can adapt to continuous customer feedback.Best books to read if you're doing a startup: "Zero to One", by Peter Thiel "The Lean Startup", by Eric Ries "The Art of the Start", by Guy Kawasaki "Hooked", by Nir Eyal
Art of the Start 2.0
GUY KAWASAKI
The Art of the Startis the classic bestselling guide to launching and making your new product, service or idea a success. Fully revised and expanded for the first time in a decade, The Art of the Start2.0 now features Guy Kawasaki's advice on the tools which make it easier than ever to get established - including social media, crowdfunding and cloud computing. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur, own a business, or want to get more entrepreneurial within any organization, this book will help you make your crazy ideas stick. It's an adventure that's more art than science - the art of the start. 'The Art of the Start 2.0is the ultimate entrepreneurship handbook. Kawasaki's generous wisdom, tips, and humour reflect his successes and failures. We can all benefit from his insights.' Arianna Huffington, President and Editor-in-Chief, Huffington Post'A successful entrepreneur requires three things- a garage, an idea, and this book - Guy's irrepressible guide to the raw essentials of life in a young company.' Michael Moritz, Sequoia CapitalBest books to read if you're doing a startup: "Zero to One", by Peter Thiel "The Lean Startup", by Eric Ries "The Art of the Start", by Guy Kawasaki "Hooked", by Nir Eyal
How to Take Over the World
Ryan North
“Comic book fans will fall hard for this delightfully daffy guidebook. . . . Exuberant, optimistic, and just plain fun, How to Take Over the World will both surprise and delight.” —Esquire A book this informative should be a crime! Taking over the world is a lot of work. Any supervillain is bound to have questions: What’s the perfect location for a floating secret base? What zany heist will fund my wildly ambitious plans? How do I control the weather, destroy the internet, and never, ever die? Bestselling author and award-winning comics writer Ryan North has the answers. In this introduction to the science of comic-book supervillainy, he details a number of outlandish villainous schemes that harness the potential of today’s most advanced technologies. Picking up where How to Invent Everything left off, his explanations are as fun and elucidating as they are completely absurd. You don’t have to be a criminal mastermind to share a supervillain’s interest in cutting-edge science and technology. This book doesn’t just reveal how to take over the world—it also shows how you could save it. This sly guide to some of the greatest threats facing humanity accessibly explores emerging techniques to extend human life spans, combat cyberterrorism, communicate across millennia, and finally make Jurassic Park a reality.If only I could have read this when I was young. https://t.co/6RhCZfyBIP
The Linguistics Wars
Randy Allen Harris
"This book chronicles the history of linguistics from the 1950s rise of Noam Chomsky's Transformational Grammar, in alliance with cognitive psychology and Artificial Intelligence, to the current day. It centers on a highly consequential dispute at a key moment of that rise, the relative importance of structure and meaning. The dispute marks a rupture between what looked to be an approaching Chomskyan hegemony in theory and a flowering of alternate approaches that complement but do not replace his approach, as well as some that advance it in various ways. The rupture was between the theory of Generative Semantics, pushing to include more and more meaning into linguistic theory, and Interpretive Semantics, which resisted that push, putting more and more focus on linguistic structure. But in many ways the dispute can be reduced to George Lakoff, the most prominent voice on the more-meaning side, and Noam Chomsky on the more-structure side. Chomsky is a big personality, quiet and understated but always gesturing at monumental and revolutionary implications for his ideas, never failing to mobilize great numbers of linguists, often with large contingents of psychologists, philosophers, computer scientists, or biologists sharing the enthusiasm as well. Lakoff is also big personality, anything but quiet or understated, equally comfortable gesturing at grand revolutions. So, personalities are central to the dispute and its aftermath, alongside the theories, the data, and the technical developments, with other social currents playing various additional roles, from military and educational funding to the counter-culture movement of the 1960s to the growth of computational technologies, and all of these factors show up in the chronicle, along with a cast of other remarkable and influential characters. Noam Chomsky is unquestionably the most influential linguist of the twentieth century-many people claim of any century-whose work and personal imprint remains powerfully relevant today, so the book ends by an analysis of Chomsky's influence and legacy"--@AwakenedJoyce The intersection between his theories and empirical reality is approximately nil. Also, he's notorious for bad-faith arguments and misrepresenting his opponents' positions. His detrimental effect on the field is truly immense. See for example: https://t.co/hV2nyXN2Bu
I highly recommend this book for anyone who thinks ML is just deep learning with some statistical learning on the side. (Or, if you don't have time for a textbook, just read "The Master Algorithm".) https://t.co/CsGyHeJ4t5
Against Empathy
Paul Bloom
@flegmaticus https://t.co/PsEGm7Cx5p
Woke Racism
John McWhorter
"Woke Racism", @JohnHMcWhorter's brilliant new book dissecting the woke religion, concludes with vignettes on people who successfully combat it. I'm honored to be one of them. https://t.co/KBIEfEj2a4
The Soul of A New Machine
Tracy Kidder
Happy 40th to the best book ever written about technologists. https://t.co/9V1X5RA1mY
Interest in symbolic learning in AI has never been higher. Here's a good intro: https://t.co/049dBFFQv7
Smarter Than You Think
Clive Thompson
Contrary to popular belief, computers are making us smarter, not dumber. https://t.co/PnnOokSfsz
Unsettled
Steven E. Koonin
From Steven Koonin, a leader in US science policy and former science advisor for the Obama administration, Unsettled is an up-close, apolitical exploration of the many misconceptions and shortcomings in the mainstream presentation of climate science--which is far less black-and-white than many people realize.@ThisIsFrag https://t.co/L3TMhAlYVw
Number
Tobias Dantzig
A new edition of the classic introduction to mathematics, first published in 1930 and revised in the 1950s, explains the history and tenets of mathematics, including the relationship of mathematics to the other sciences and profiles of the luminaries whose research expanded the human concept of number. Reprint. 25,000 first printing.@NoahSD https://t.co/78htFISEuu
The Master Algorithm
Pedro Domingos
@hungiscoding Read this book: https://t.co/p7V9UEJeMK
Tech Panic
Robby Soave
Finally, an antidote to all the books promoting anti-tech hysteria: https://t.co/IDdioqoPys
The Extended Phenotype
Richard Dawkins
In this influential and controversial book that has become a classic in popular science writing, Dawkins furthers his fascinating look at the evolution of life and natural selection.@SimonDLevy1 @IntuitMachine https://t.co/59FCDV01HM
Evolutionary Psychology
David M Buss
Where did we come from? What is our connection with other life forms? What are the mechanisms of mind that define what it means to be a human being? Evolutionary psychology is a revolutionary new science, a true synthesis of modern principles of psychology and evolutionary biology. Since the publication of the award-winning first edition of Evolutionary Psychology, there has been an explosion of research within the field. In this book, David M. Buss examines human behavior from an evolutionary perspective, providing students with the conceptual tools needed to study evolutionary psychology and apply them to empirical research on the human mind. This edition contains expanded coverage of cultural evolution, with a new section on culture-gene co-evolution, additional studies discussing interbreeding between modern humans and Neanderthals, expanded discussions of evolutionary hypotheses that have been empirically disconfirmed, and much more! Evolutionary Psychology features a wealth of student-friendly pedagogy including critical-thinking questions and case study boxes designed to show how to apply evolutionary psychology to real-life situations. It is also accompanied by a thoroughly updated companion website featuring PowerPoints for each chapter, test bank questions, and links to web resources and videos. Evolutionary Psychology is an invaluable resource for undergraduates studying psychology, biology and anthropology.In every age, the scientists making the major advances that will only be recognized later are often hidden in plain sight. Today it's evolutionary psychologists - the people who really understand how society works and why but are shut out by ideology. https://t.co/ufcQJdoUs6
The Plague
Albert Camus
A haunting tale of human resilience in the face of unrelieved horror, Camus' novel about a bubonic plague ravaging the people of a North African coastal town is a classic of twentieth-century literature.Now is a good time to reread this book. Different plague, same human behaviors. https://t.co/7IFFVOolKP
The Scientist in the Crib
Alison Gopnik
A propos of which, here's a great book that all AI researchers should read: https://t.co/5C3iOCMbJt
Gravitation
Charles W. Misner
First published in 1973, Gravitation is a landmark graduate-level textbook that presents Einstein’s general theory of relativity and offers a rigorous, full-year course on the physics of gravitation. Upon publication, Science called it “a pedagogic masterpiece,” and it has since become a classic, considered essential reading for every serious student and researcher in the field of relativity. This authoritative text has shaped the research of generations of physicists and astronomers, and the book continues to influence the way experts think about the subject. With an emphasis on geometric interpretation, this masterful and comprehensive book introduces the theory of relativity; describes physical applications, from stars to black holes and gravitational waves; and portrays the field’s frontiers. The book also offers a unique, alternating, two-track pathway through the subject. Material focusing on basic physical ideas is designated as Track 1 and formulates an appropriate one-semester graduate-level course. The remaining Track 2 material provides a wealth of advanced topics instructors can draw on for a two-semester course, with Track 1 sections serving as prerequisites. This must-have reference for students and scholars of relativity includes a new preface by David Kaiser, reflecting on the history of the book’s publication and reception, and a new introduction by Charles Misner and Kip Thorne, discussing exciting developments in the field since the book’s original publication. The book teaches students to: Grasp the laws of physics in flat and curved spacetime Predict orders of magnitude Calculate using the principal tools of modern geometry Understand Einstein's geometric framework for physics Explore applications, including neutron stars, Schwarzschild and Kerr black holes, gravitational collapse, gravitational waves, cosmology, and so much moreA textbook on general relativity should be massive enough to bend the shelf it sits on. https://t.co/WqnxvQaXsA
Neural Networks for Pattern Recognition (Advanced Texts in Econometrics (Paperback))
Christopher M. Bishop
`Readers will emerge with a rigorous statistical grounding in the theory of how to construct and train neural networks in pattern recognition' New ScientistStill the best introduction to neural networks. https://t.co/4LFyI7orsY
Unsettled
Steven E. Koonin
From Steven Koonin, a leader in US science policy and former science advisor for the Obama administration, Unsettled is an up-close, apolitical exploration of the many misconceptions and shortcomings in the mainstream presentation of climate science--which is far less black-and-white than many people realize.The best book on climate change yet. https://t.co/xU8TPVecIu
Governing Lethal Behavior in Autonomous Robots
Ronald Arkin
Expounding on the results of the author�s work with the US Army Research Office, DARPA, the Office of Naval Research, and various defense industry contractors, Governing Lethal Behavior in Autonomous Robots explores how to produce an "artificial conscience" in a new class of robots, humane-oids, which are robots that can potentially perform more ethically than humans in the battlefield. The author examines the philosophical basis, motivation, theory, and design recommendations for the implementation of an ethical control and reasoning system in autonomous robot systems, taking into account the Laws of War and Rules of Engagement. The book presents robot architectural design recommendations for Post facto suppression of unethical behavior, Behavioral design that incorporates ethical constraints from the onset, The use of affective functions as an adaptive component in the event of unethical action, and A mechanism that identifies and advises operators regarding their ultimate responsibility for the deployment of autonomous systems. It also examines why soldiers fail in battle regarding ethical decisions; discusses the opinions of the public, researchers, policymakers, and military personnel on the use of lethality by autonomous systems; provides examples that illustrate autonomous systems� ethical use of force; and includes relevant Laws of War. Helping ensure that warfare is conducted justly with the advent of autonomous robots, this book shows that the first steps toward creating robots that not only conform to international law but outperform human soldiers in their ethical capacity are within reach in the future. It supplies the motivation, philosophy, formalisms, representational requirements, architectural design criteria, recommendations, and test scenarios to design and construct an autonomous robotic system capable of ethically using lethAI ethics before the wokes descended on it: https://t.co/XmcHyik79j
Politically Correct Bedtime Stories
James Finn Garner
A whimsical adaptation of classic fairy tales and bedtime stories removes all kinds of bias and objective language from such traditional tales as "Chicken Little," "Rapunzel," "The Three Little Pigs," "Cinderella," and many others.I wonder if this would be impossible to publish today, or an even bigger bestseller. https://t.co/9iYmsnN5zV
Gödel, Escher, Bach
Douglas R Hofstadter
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize A metaphorical fugue on minds and machines in the spirit of Lewis Carroll Douglas Hofstadter's book is concerned directly with the nature of "maps" or links between formal systems. However, according to Hofstadter, the formal system that underlies all mental activity transcends the system that supports it. If life can grow out of the formal chemical substrate of the cell, if consciousness can emerge out of a formal system of firing neurons, then so too will computers attain human intelligence. Gödel, Escher, Bach is a wonderful exploration of fascinating ideas at the heart of cognitive science: meaning, reduction, recursion, and much more.In honor of World Book Day, here are some of the best books I've read: - "Fictions" (Borges) - "Star Maker" (Stapledon) - "Battle Cry of Freedom" (McPherson) - "Godel, Escher, Bach" (Hofstadter) - "Guns, Germs, and Steel" (Diamond) - "The Road" (McCarthy) - "Aztec" (Jennings)
Collected Fictions
Jorge Luis Borges
A collection of short stories by a poet, critic and writer, translated into a single volume. Includes THE UNIVERSAL HISTORY OF INIQUITY, FICCIONES, THE ALEPH and SHAKESPEARE'S MEMORY.In honor of World Book Day, here are some of the best books I've read: - "Fictions" (Borges) - "Star Maker" (Stapledon) - "Battle Cry of Freedom" (McPherson) - "Godel, Escher, Bach" (Hofstadter) - "Guns, Germs, and Steel" (Diamond) - "The Road" (McCarthy) - "Aztec" (Jennings)
Star Maker
Olaf Stapledon
This 1937 successor to Last and First Men offers another entrancing speculative history of the future. Cited as a key influence by science-fiction masters such as Doris Lessing, its bold exploration of the cosmos ventures into intelligent star clusters and mingles among alien races for a memorable vision of infinity.In honor of World Book Day, here are some of the best books I've read: - "Fictions" (Borges) - "Star Maker" (Stapledon) - "Battle Cry of Freedom" (McPherson) - "Godel, Escher, Bach" (Hofstadter) - "Guns, Germs, and Steel" (Diamond) - "The Road" (McCarthy) - "Aztec" (Jennings)
Battle Cry of Freedom
James M. McPherson
Filled with fresh interpretations and information, puncturing old myths and challenging new ones, Battle Cry of Freedom will unquestionably become the standard one-volume history of the Civil War. James McPherson's fast-paced narrative fully integrates the political, social, and military events that crowded the two decades from the outbreak of one war in Mexico to the ending of another at Appomattox. Packed with drama and analytical insight, the book vividly recounts the momentous episodes that preceded the Civil War—the Dred Scott decision, the Lincoln-Douglas debates, John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry—and then moves into a masterful chronicle of the war itself—the battles, the strategic maneuvering on both sides, the politics, and the personalities.In honor of World Book Day, here are some of the best books I've read: - "Fictions" (Borges) - "Star Maker" (Stapledon) - "Battle Cry of Freedom" (McPherson) - "Godel, Escher, Bach" (Hofstadter) - "Guns, Germs, and Steel" (Diamond) - "The Road" (McCarthy) - "Aztec" (Jennings)
Guns, Germs, and Steel
Jared Diamond Ph.D.
"Fascinating.... Lays a foundation for understanding human history."—Bill Gates In this "artful, informative, and delightful" (William H. McNeill, New York Review of Books) book, Jared Diamond convincingly argues that geographical and environmental factors shaped the modern world. Societies that had had a head start in food production advanced beyond the hunter-gatherer stage, and then developed religion --as well as nasty germs and potent weapons of war --and adventured on sea and land to conquer and decimate preliterate cultures. A major advance in our understanding of human societies, Guns, Germs, and Steel chronicles the way that the modern world came to be and stunningly dismantles racially based theories of human history. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the Phi Beta Kappa Award in Science, the Rhone-Poulenc Prize, and the Commonwealth club of California's Gold Medal.In honor of World Book Day, here are some of the best books I've read: - "Fictions" (Borges) - "Star Maker" (Stapledon) - "Battle Cry of Freedom" (McPherson) - "Godel, Escher, Bach" (Hofstadter) - "Guns, Germs, and Steel" (Diamond) - "The Road" (McCarthy) - "Aztec" (Jennings)
The Road
Cormac McCarthy
The post-apocalyptic modern classic with an introduction by novelist John Banville. In a burned-out America, a father and his young son walk under a darkened sky, heading slowly for the coast. They have no idea what, if anything, awaits them there. The landscape is destroyed, nothing moves save the ash on the wind and cruel, lawless men stalk the roadside, lying in wait. Attempting to survive in this brave new world, the young boy and his protector have nothing but a pistol to defend themselves. They must keep walking. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, The Road is an incandescent novel, the story of a remarkable and profoundly moving journey. In this unflinching study of the best and worst of humankind, Cormac McCarthy boldly divines a future without hope, but one in which, miraculously, this young family finds tenderness. An exemplar of post-apocalyptic writing, The Road is a true modern classic, a masterful, moving and increasingly prescient novel.In honor of World Book Day, here are some of the best books I've read: - "Fictions" (Borges) - "Star Maker" (Stapledon) - "Battle Cry of Freedom" (McPherson) - "Godel, Escher, Bach" (Hofstadter) - "Guns, Germs, and Steel" (Diamond) - "The Road" (McCarthy) - "Aztec" (Jennings)
Aztec
Gary Jennings
The epic tale of an Aztec survivor of the Spanish conquest and his times as a warrior, scribe, travelling merchant, confidant of Motecuhzoma II, and envoy to the invading Spaniards.In honor of World Book Day, here are some of the best books I've read: - "Fictions" (Borges) - "Star Maker" (Stapledon) - "Battle Cry of Freedom" (McPherson) - "Godel, Escher, Bach" (Hofstadter) - "Guns, Germs, and Steel" (Diamond) - "The Road" (McCarthy) - "Aztec" (Jennings)
The Folly of Fools
Robert Trivers
A New York Times Notable Book of 2012 Whether it’s in a cockpit at takeoff or the planning of an offensive war, a romantic relationship or a dispute at the office, there are many opportunities to lie and self-deceive—but deceit and self-deception carry the costs of being alienated from reality and can lead to disaster. So why does deception play such a prominent role in our everyday lives? In short, why do we deceive? In his bold new work, prominent biological theorist Robert Trivers unflinchingly argues that self-deception evolved in the service of deceit—the better to fool others. We do it for biological reasons—in order to help us survive and procreate. From viruses mimicking host behavior to humans misremembering (sometimes intentionally) the details of a quarrel, science has proven that the deceptive one can always outwit the masses. But we undertake this deception at our own peril. Trivers has written an ambitious investigation into the evolutionary logic of lying and the costs of leaving it unchecked.@EricsElectrons As brilliantly dissected in @TriversRobert's book: https://t.co/3vDK0xJ8DO
Surfaces and Essences
Douglas Hofstadter
Shows how analogy-making pervades human thought at all levels, influencing the choice of words and phrases in speech, providing guidance in unfamiliar situations, and giving rise to great acts of imagination.I really think the shortest path to human-level AI is operationalizing the insights in this book: https://t.co/dQJOetL1xy
Surfaces and Essences
Douglas Hofstadter
Shows how analogy-making pervades human thought at all levels, influencing the choice of words and phrases in speech, providing guidance in unfamiliar situations, and giving rise to great acts of imagination.Reading this extremely insightful book is a great antidote to the overly simplistic notions of concept learning that currently prevail in ML: https://t.co/bKZt1gQXlj
More from Less
Andrew McAfee
From the coauthor of the New York Times bestseller The Second Machine Age, a compelling argument—masterfully researched and brilliantly articulated—that we have at last learned how to increase human prosperity while treading more lightly on our planet. Throughout history, the only way for humanity to grow was by degrading the Earth: chopping down forests, fouling the air and water, and endlessly digging out resources. Since the first Earth Day in 1970, the reigning argument has been that taking better care of the planet means radically changing course: reducing our consumption, tightening our belts, learning to share and reuse, restraining growth. Is that argument correct? Absolutely not. In More from Less, McAfee argues that to solve our ecological problems we don’t need to make radical changes. Instead, we need to do more of what we’re already doing: growing technologically sophisticated market-based economies around the world. How can he possibly make this claim? Because of the evidence. America—a large, high-tech country that accounts for about 25% of the global economy—is now generally using less of most resources year after year, even as its economy and population continue to grow. What’s more, the US is polluting the air and water less, emitting fewer greenhouse gases, and replenishing endangered animal populations. And, as McAfee shows, America is not alone. Other countries are also transforming themselves in fundamental ways. What has made this turnabout possible? One thing, primarily: the collaboration between technology and capitalism, although good governance and public awareness have also been critical. McAfee does warn of issues that haven’t been solved, like global warming, overfishing, and communities left behind as capitalism and tech progress race forward. But overall, More from Less is a revelatory, paradigm-shifting account of how we’ve stumbled into an unexpectedly better balance with nature—one that holds out the promise of more abundant and greener centuries ahead.The central paradox of our time is that GDP continues to grow while resource consumption shrinks. This brilliant book by @amcafee explains how: https://t.co/wQet5CtaAz
Rebooting AI
Gary Marcus
Two leaders in the field offer a compelling analysis of the current state of the art and reveal the steps we must take to achieve a truly robust artificial intelligence. Despite the hype surrounding AI, creating an intelligence that rivals or exceeds human levels is far more complicated than we have been led to believe. Professors Gary Marcus and Ernest Davis have spent their careers at the forefront of AI research and have witnessed some of the greatest milestones in the field, but they argue that a computer beating a human in Jeopardy! does not signal that we are on the doorstep of fully autonomous cars or superintelligent machines. The achievements in the field thus far have occurred in closed systems with fixed sets of rules, and these approaches are too narrow to achieve genuine intelligence. The real world, in contrast, is wildly complex and open-ended. How can we bridge this gap? What will the consequences be when we do? Taking inspiration from the human mind, Marcus and Davis explain what we need to advance AI to the next level, and suggest that if we are wise along the way, we won't need to worry about a future of machine overlords. If we focus on endowing machines with common sense and deep understanding, rather than simply focusing on statistical analysis and gatherine ever larger collections of data, we will be able to create an AI we can trust--in our homes, our cars, and our doctors' offices. Rebooting AI provides a lucid, clear-eyed assessment of the current science and offers an inspiring vision of how a new generation of AI can make our lives better.Yoshua Bengio says that if you want to win the next Turing Award you should work on something other than deep learning. Reading this book is a good place to start: https://t.co/pGBETXxWRI
Master Algorithm
Pedro Domingos
Algorithms increasingly run our lives. They find books, movies, jobs, and dates for us, manage our investments, and discover new drugs. More and more, these algorithms work by learning from the trails of data we leave in our newly digital world. Like curious children, they observe us, imitate, and experiment. And in the world’s top research labs and universities, the race is on to invent the ultimate learning algorithm: one capable of discovering any knowledge from data, and doing anything we want, before we even ask. Machine learning is the automation of discovery--the scientific method on steroids--that enables intelligent robots and computers to program themselves. No field of science today is more important yet more shrouded in mystery. Pedro Domingos, one of the field’s leading lights, lifts the veil for the first time to give us a peek inside the learning machines that power Google, Amazon, and your smartphone. He charts a course through machine learning’s five major schools of thought, showing how they turn ideas from neuroscience, evolution, psychology, physics, and statistics into algorithms ready to serve you. Step by step, he assembles a blueprint for the future universal learner--the Master Algorithm--and discusses what it means for you, and for the future of business, science, and society. If data-ism is today’s rising philosophy, this book will be its bible. The quest for universal learning is one of the most significant, fascinating, and revolutionary intellectual developments of all time. A groundbreaking book,The Master Algorithm is the essential guide for anyone and everyone wanting to understand not just how the revolution will happen, but how to be at its forefront.Everything you always wanted to know about machine learning: https://t.co/GiLR0cNgFG #MachineLearning #AI #DataScience
Algorithms to Live By
Brian Christian
A fascinating exploration of how computer algorithms can be applied to our everyday lives, helping to solve common decision-making problems and illuminate the workings of the human mind All our lives are constrained by limited space and time, limits that give rise to a particular set of problems. What should we do, or leave undone, in a day or a lifetime? How much messiness should we accept? What balance of new activities and familiar favourites is the most fulfilling? These may seem like uniquely human quandaries, but they are not: computers, too, face the same constraints, so computer scientists have been grappling with their version of such problems for decades. And the solutions they've found have much to teach us. In a dazzlingly interdisciplinary work, acclaimed author Brian Christian (who holds degrees in computer science, philosophy, and poetry, and works at the intersection of all three) and Tom Griffiths (a UC Berkeley professor of cognitive science and psychology) show how the simple, precise algorithms used by computers can also untangle very human questions. They explain how to have better hunches and when to leave things to chance, how to deal with overwhelming choices and how best to connect with others. From finding a spouse to finding a parking spot, from organizing one's inbox to understanding the workings of human memory, Algorithms to Live By transforms the wisdom of computer science into strategies for human living."A burgeoning new genre - books about algorithms and what they mean for us: https://t.co/vaMrjAXxgY https://t.co/B4s5hIs1RJ https://t.co/ockEV79ULN
Army of None
Paul Scharre
A Pentagon defense expert and former U.S. Army Ranger explores what it would mean to give machines authority over the ultimate decision of life or death.@Paul_Scharre's fascinating book on how autonomous weapons are radically transforming warfare, and the decisions we have to make about them: https://t.co/0COAFwt6P6
Data for the People
Andreas Weigend
Every time we Google something, Facebook someone, Uber somewhere, or even just turn on a light, we create data that businesses collect and use to make decisions about us. In many ways this has improved our lives, yet, we as individuals do not benefit from this wealth of data as much as we could. Moreover, whether it is a bank evaluating our credit worthiness, an insurance company determining our risk level, or a potential employer deciding whether we get a job, it is likely that this data will be used against us rather than for us. In Data for the People, Andreas Weigend draws on his years as a consultant for commerce, education, healthcare, travel and finance companies to outline how Big Data can work better for all of us. As of today, how much we benefit from Big Data depends on how closely the interests of big companies align with our own. Too often, outdated standards of control and privacy force us into unfair contracts with data companies, but it doesn’t have to be this way. Weigend makes a powerful argument that we need to take control of how our data is used to actually make it work for us. Only then can we the people get back more from Big Data than we give it. Big Data is here to stay. Now is the time to find out how we can be empowered by it.The best book I've read yet on issues of privacy and data sharing: https://t.co/XE91tKPjpN
Number
Tobias Dantzig
A new edition of the classic introduction to mathematics, first published in 1930 and revised in the 1950s, explains the history and tenets of mathematics, including the relationship of mathematics to the other sciences and profiles of the luminaries whose research expanded the human concept of number. Reprint. 25,000 first printing.One of the best books on mathematics I've ever read: https://t.co/78htFISEuu
The Quest for Artificial Intelligence
Nils J. Nilsson
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a field within computer science that is attempting to build enhanced intelligence into computer systems. This book traces the history of the subject, from the early dreams of eighteenth-century (and earlier) pioneers to the more successful work of today's AI engineers. AI is becoming more and more a part of everyone's life. The technology is already embedded in face-recognizing cameras, speech-recognition software, Internet search engines, and health-care robots, among other applications. The book's many diagrams and easy-to-understand descriptions of AI programs will help the casual reader gain an understanding of how these and other AI systems actually work. Its thorough (but unobtrusive) end-of-chapter notes containing citations to important source materials will be of great use to AI scholars and researchers. This book promises to be the definitive history of a field that has captivated the imaginations of scientists, philosophers, and writers for centuries.@jackclarkSF @MelMitchell1 Read Nils Nilsson's "The Quest for AI".
Seven Brief Lessons on Physics
Carlo Rovelli
Instant New York Times Bestseller "Short and resonant. . . . The essays in Seven Brief Lessons on Physics arrive like shots of espresso."--The New York Times "A startling and illustrative distillation of centuries of science."--The Economist "Lean, lucid and enchanting."--New Scientist The international bestseller that reveals all the beauty of modern physics in seven short and enlightening lessons Seven Brief Lessons on Physics is a book about the joy of discovery. Carlo Rovelli brings a playful, entertaining, and mind-bending introduction to modern physics, offering surprising--and surprisingly easy to grasp--explanations of Einstein's general relativity, quantum mechanics, elementary particles, gravity, black holes, the complex architecture of the universe, and the role humans play in this weird and wonderful world. He takes us to the frontiers of our knowledge: to the most minute reaches of the fabric of space, back to the origins of the cosmos, and into the workings of our minds. "Here, on the edge of what we know, in contact with the ocean of the unknown, shines the mystery and the beauty of the world," Rovelli writes. "And it's breathtaking."The best book on physics since Feynman, just published in the U.S.: https://t.co/hNmeSywp2c
The Magic of Math
Arthur Benjamin
My kid loved this book: http://t.co/tmnY6aCo4V
The Righteous Mind
Jonathan Haidt
Presents a groundbreaking investigation into the origins of morality at the core of religion and politics, offering scholarly insight into the motivations behind cultural clashes that are polarizing America.Dear liberals & conservatives, what's the point of arguing about the conclusions if you disagree about the premises? http://t.co/lsXeWvWXsO
The Master Algorithm
Pedro Domingos
@nntaleb, learn to predict black swans with http://t.co/uP8Q2nICJr http://t.co/KwyGWrkkEy
How to Lie with Statistics
Darrell Huff
If you want to outsmart a crook, learn his tricks—Darrell Huff explains exactly how in the classic How to Lie with Statistics. From distorted graphs and biased samples to misleading averages, there are countless statistical dodges that lend cover to anyone with an ax to grind or a product to sell. With abundant examples and illustrations, Darrell Huff’s lively and engaging primer clarifies the basic principles of statistics and explains how they’re used to present information in honest and not-so-honest ways. Now even more indispensable in our data-driven world than it was when first published, How to Lie with Statistics is the book that generations of readers have relied on to keep from being fooled."How to Lie with Statistics" needs an update. "How to Lie with Big Data"? http://t.co/zGskfHluBx
The Master Algorithm
Pedro Domingos
You can now look inside #TheMasterAlgorithm: http://t.co/znlZh6F0Gm (Check out pages xiv-xxi for a summary of the book.)
The Master Algorithm
Pedro Domingos
What's to inductive reasoning what a universal Turing machine is to deductive reasoning? http://t.co/hvVbZSKpL2
Aztec
Gary Jennings
The epic tale of an Aztec survivor of the Spanish conquest and his times as a warrior, scribe, travelling merchant, confidant of Motecuhzoma II, and envoy to the invading Spaniards.Best summer read of all time: 'Aztec,' by Gary Jennings. http://t.co/Z0segROMp3