by Carlo Rovelli A Review 'Things are transformed one into another according to necessity, and render justice to one another according to the order of time.' [Anaximander c. 570 BCE] This delightful little book makes us look again at many of the concepts we take for granted. In childhood, we learn to think of reality …
Category: Books
Brave New World Postscript
Further Thoughts on Machines Like Me by Ian McEwan Sometimes you just have to read bits of a novel again. Machines Like Me is that kind of novel. (reviewed here) I mused for a long time over the title. What does it mean? Is it a reflection of the fact that we humans, just like …
Brave New World
Machines Like Me by Ian McEwan A Review 'We create a machine with intelligence and self-awareness and push it out into our imperfect world ..... such a mind soon finds itself in a hurricane of contradiction. We may be confronting a boundary condition.' I was delighted to learn in yesterday's news that a portrait of …
To a Lighthouse?
Harbour by John Ajvide Lindqvist ‘The sea has given and the sea has taken away.’ Harbour is Lindqvist’s third supernatural novel. This one is set on the fictional island of Domaro in the Swedish archipelago, where Anders and Cecilia have a holiday cottage. One winter day, the couple set out with their six-year-old daughter Maja …
A Matter of Time
The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov The possibility that we might visit our planet’s history – and maybe influence it – is the most tantalising of all fantasies. Perhaps, instead, we might travel into the future and, as observers, discover whether our descendants are still reading books, or watching films. What new mythologies can …
‘Do you want to come in?’
Let The Right One In (Let Me In) John Ajvide Lindquist I was reminded of this post (written over three years ago) when I picked up a copy of another Lindquist novel at a book sale. Entitled Harbour, I'm about half way through and will post a review as soon as I can. No vampires, …
What Money Can’t Buy
The Moral Limits of Markets by Michael J Sandel 'Betting on when celebrities will die is a recreational activity.' I have been a fan of Michael Sandel for several years now, ever since I watched his Harvard lectures entitled Justice. Described variously as 'a great educator' and 'the most popular professor in the world', Sandel …
