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The Lifebox, the Seashell, and the Soul: What Gnarly Computation Taught Me About Ultimate Reality, the Meaning of Life, and How to Be Happy
by
Rudy Rucker
A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, goes the ancient saying. This concept is at the root of the computational worldview, which basically says that very complex systems — the world we live in — have their beginnings in simple mathematical equations. We've lately come to understand that such an algorithm is only the start of a never-ending story — the real ac...more
Paperback, 560 pages
Published
September 28th 2006
by Basic Books
(first published September 27th 2005)
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Came in looking for answers that only a computer science professor could provide. Came out feeling ok that there can be many answers as the process unfolds. Will definitely reread at future points in my life.
Some interesting math leads to some half-baked philosophical speculation. I will resist further plays on the word 'baked' but there is a definite whiff of potsmoke emanating from this book.
A book discussing cellular automata and what they tell us about the nature of the universe and the origins of complexity. This is the sort of book I really would have loved when I was about sixteen, but most of the interesting stuff in it I was already familiar with. I think Rudy Rucker sometimes confuses poetic connections with scientific ones.
Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant ... I pushed my way through beginning to end (which took about 6 months) and now plan to happily spend decades flipping through different bits ... life-changing, worldview-altering, useful in many ways ... and peppered with illustrative short fiction
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Rudolf von Bitter Rucker is an American mathematician, computer scientist, science fiction author, and one of the founders of the cyberpunk genre. He is best known for his Ware Tetralogy, the first two of which won Philip K. Dick awards. Presently, Rudy Rucker edits the science fiction webzine Flurb.
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