December 23, 2012

The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology - by: Ray Kurzweil (2005)

Kurzweil predicts that by the year 2045 machines will be "one billion times more powerful than all human intelligence today". He says humans will then be able to live "as long as they want" and in any kind of body they want. But, Kurzweil sidesteps the consciousness problem (i.e. can a machine really be conscious?) claiming that the question of consciousness is not important. I beg to differ. I think the question of consciousness is the most important question we will ever face. And in the face of that question all of Kurzweil's materialistic (and humanistic) dreams will stall for a long time coming.

Even though this book doesn't pretend to be a philosophy book, it does raise a lot of really interesting (and pressing) philosophical questions; like, what exactly does it mean to be intelligent, or even human for that matter, in the face of modern (and imminent) technology?

Magic and Mystery in Tibet - by: Alexandra David-Neel (1932, 2014)

This is one of those rare books that exposes another culture in a way that really opens it up an lets the reader glimpse for themselves what...