The mind-body problem

What Hacker News says

1. hackerbloosDec 2015
   I've just updated my list of books I read this year. Scores are out of 5. If there is a + it means I found it to be extra special for some reason or other.

   = Jan =

   Smarter Than You Think - Clive Thompson 3

   The positives of tech and the internet.

   = Feb =

   Super Sad True Love Story - Gary Shteyngart 4

   Science fiction set in the not too distant future. Main themes include life extension and surveillance.

   = Mar =

   The HitchHiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams 4

   The Restaurant at the End of the Universe - Douglas Adams 3

   Had never read this series, thought it might be about time.

   = Apr =

   What does it all Mean? - Thomas Nagel 2 (though it is kind of meant for people who have never done any Philosophy, ever, so would recommend to someone like that. Will pass it on to someone taking an interest in the subject)

   An introduction to Philosophy.

   Earth - David Brin 5+

   Science fiction set in the not too distant future, written in the 90s. Really interesting themes / vision of post climate change world.

   SlaughterHouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut 5

   Semi autobiographical account of the bombing of Dresden in WW2. Really funny and clever ideas. Very good.

   = May =

   Nick Cohen - What’s Left? 4

   Account of how the left has degenerated since the collapse of the hard left and the winning of liberal battles e.g. LGBT rights. Basic premise is that those on the left hate the West and the status quo so much they stoop to allying themselves with anyone who also opposes the status quo.

   = June =

   Plato at the Googleplex: Why Philosophy won’t go away - Rebecca Newberger Goldstein 5+

   Plato has somehow appeared in the 21st century and is doing a talk at Google! A really enjoyable account of how Plato’s philosophy could be applied to modern issues. Really good. I want to go to Athens.

   = July =

   The Mind Body Problem - Rebecca Newberger Goldstein 4

   Novel about a female philosophy student shagging around and philosophising about it.

   Believing Bullshit - Stephen Law 4

   Book detailing the various tricks / schemes played by charlatans and how to avoid being taken in by them.

   = August =

   36 Arguments for the Existence of God: a work of fiction - Rebecca Newberger Goldstein 3

   Novel about an academic and his mentor. It was ok.

   = September =

   The Restaurant at the End of the Universe - Douglas Adams 3

   Think I’m done reading these for now, don’t feel the urge to finish the set.

   Kafka - The Trial 5

   Really good. Love the surrealism - the nightmarish / dreamish-ness of it. Saw it in the Theatre as well after reading it, thought that was great too.

   = October =

   = November =

   Existence - David Brin 3

   Not as good as Earth. Glad I read that first. Interesting imagining of what form contact from alien life could take though. Also interesting look at existential risks. The main part I didn’t like was how it skipped forward in time 3 decades about 3/4s of the way through, I had thought the characters were a little weak in general up until then anyway, and then they were pretty much gone entirely at that point.

   = December =

   Alone Together - Sherry Turtle 4

   The negatives of tech, robotics and the internet. Interesting and important read.

   Imperium - Robert Harris 5

   First in the semi-fictional trilogy accounting the fall of the Roman Republic, told through the eyes of Cicero’s secretary, Tiro. Really good. The politics, the corruption, the ancient city really brought to life. Enhanced by having visited Rome in the Summer.

   Also currently reading ‘Reclaiming Conversation’ by Sherry Turkle, an account of the negative affect being permanently tethered to the internet has on our conversations, our capacity for empathy and our relationships, and Nietzsche’s 'Thus Spoke Zarathustra'.

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2. antiformDec 2008
   I rather enjoyed the book, but it is largely because I knew what I was getting into. It's a pop science book, written by a person with a philosophical background, and embellished in the Hollywood-esque fashion, pitting the good guy--Goedel, the misunderstood genius--against the bad guy--Wittgenstein and the logical positivists--in a no-holds-barred showdown of ideas that lie at the heart of all truth and mathematics!

   Obviously, it's a stretch at times, and there a good deal of rigor lost, but it's a pretty juicy story. If I wanted a biography, I would read one specifically about Goedel, and not one about Incompleteness. If I wanted to learn about the theorems themselves, I would pick up a copy of his paper or one of the many readable expositions of his work. But I wanted a fun read that explained why so many philosophers and nonmathematicians were interested in this rather esoteric bit of mathematics, and I certainly got that from the book.

   Nonetheless, if you want a better book by the author, I recommend The Mind-Body Problem over this one.

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