Goodreads Mobile | see what your friends are reading

Jul 01, 2008

Paul rated it:

Imagine a 132 page modern day Socratic dialogue between a package delivery man and an old man in a comfy chair. And... this comes from the creator of "Dilbert".

The premise is something out of Tipler's "The Physics of Immortality" -- the idea that because of probability, one day, we will all be "redone" by a very powerful computer -- with a little bit of Leibniz' monadology thrown in; and while neither are mentioned by name, very similar ideas are b More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Jul 23, 2008

1invisiblegrl rated it:

This is available as a free pdf file- just google it. It's short enough to read in a few hours. I loved every bit of it.

2 comments like (4 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Richard rated it:

If it had been written as comedy, God's Debris would have been an enjoyable read, since Adams does come up with some funny and interesting conceits. Unfortunately he takes them seriously, and hides behind the weak excuse that he's challenging the reader to find the flaws in his arguments. Unfortunately, when someone who -- by his own admission -- knows nothing about quantum physics or probability theory writes very seriously on those subjects, the result is a lot of annoying gibberish.

More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 28, 2008

Sean rated it:

Adams also writes the comic strip Dilbert, but this book is completely different. i thought this was a good read and i'd recommend it to others; however, i'd be careful to only recommend it to folks who are not too religious as this book might not be enjoyable to these individuals.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 26, 2009

Sean rated it:

This is easily my favorite book that I have ever read. As the sub-title says, it is not quite a story, but more of a thought experiment. The author is Scott Adams (the creator of Dilbert), but this is far from a humor book. "Metaphysics" is probably the closest term for it, as it makes your brain spin around inside your skull...in a good way.

The simple plot is this: What if there was a person who knew literally everything? Including how all of our current notions about More...

0 comments like

May 25, 2010

Gaurav rated it:

This book is in a direct contrast to Dilbert. Whereas Dilbert is funny, there is not a single funny moment in this book. The author has made a brave attempt to look at various givens in our life from a different angle. For example, he has tried to define God quite differently from what most of us have come to believe him as. But this is not a religious discourse. Infact this is a book that can be enjoyed by everyone from an atheist to a religious person - provided his tolerance levels are good. More...

2 comments like

Jun 13, 2011

Rob rated it:

Humankind has advanced understanding with respect to medicine, physics, anatomy, the cosmos, psychology, geology, geography . . . in short, in virtually every field, with each succeeding generation building on the truths established by previous generations, debunking myths, clarifying truths, unveiling reality through experimentation and observation, and so forth. The one field in which we spin our wheels is religion. Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where do we go when we leave this lif More...

0 comments like

Dec 21, 2011

Steven rated it:

Wow! I finally finished a book after a 2 or 3 month hiatus! This one should have taken me an evening to get through and yet it somehow took me a full 7 days. And it wasn't because it was a boring or poorly written book, I've just not been doing a lot of leisurely reading as of late. But anyway, about God's Debris.

This book is basically written like a Socratic dialogue. Adams states that he doesn't believe everything he's written in this book and that's good because while deeply philos More...

0 comments like

Apr 05, 2011

Linda rated it:

I thought this was just going to be a quick, benign read but some of the concepts really captured my curiosity and piqued my interest so much that I got distracted and it took much longer to finish than I anticipated. The storyline is not the point of the book; rather it is a collection of ideas to stimulate thoughts and test your beliefs. I continue to find myself drawn into philosophical spirals and discussions initiated by this book -- even dragging my unsuspecting friends and coworkers wit More...

0 comments like

Dec 07, 2009

Jake rated it:

This book is a fairly mixed bag. The bottom line is I didn't enjoy this book, but I think it might be useful. On the one hand, Adams is witty and I enjoy his sense of humor. On the other hand, the philosophy in this 'thought experiment' gets onto very shaky ground quite early in the book, and continues down a rocky path as it progresses. I won't really touch on the science end other than to say that some of the stances are nonsensical and contradictory (esp. on evolution) and Adams was wise More...

0 comments like

Jun 11, 2011

Siddharth rated it:

I found 'God's Debris' an extremely tedious read. Not only is it riddled with factual inaccuracies and logical flaws but it's not thought-provoking (as Scotty advertises in the admittedly intriguing introduction) by any standards. Mr. Adams challenges the reader to identify said inaccuracies as part of the "fun". Sadly, it isn't fun, just infuriating. I mean, who really wants to go through a book saying "oh, that's wrong" or "yep, that's right". Anyone with a reason More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 09, 2009

Bad Tim rated it:

a thought-provoking conversation about religion, that presents eastern ideas about religion as if the asians never thought of them. so far, it has a very christo-muslim prejudice about what constitutes religious belief, and dwells too much on the idea of a one true religion and absolutes such as 'if you believe in a god, you would certainly devote your entire life to it', instead of considering the possibility that some of us don't believe our gods want such a thing.

this is a prejudic More...

1 comment like

Mar 08, 2009

Paula rated it:

I enjoyed the thoughts that this book encouraged. It forces the reader to question their beliefs and how they perceive the way the world works. Adams takes tough concepts and talks about them in a way that is simple to understand yet challenging enough to make the reader feel uneasy (but in a good way). I particularly enjoyed the section that questioned how many people genuinely believe in God. Sure many people claim they believe in God and will tell others that their belief in God is true, but More...

0 comments like

Jul 25, 2010

Mike rated it:

This is not a great book, however I read it when I was 13 or 14 and it really primed my mind for better thinking down the road. For that reason and that reason alone I've given it 4 stars.

Its relatively light and fun and can be read in one sitting. He toys with some ideas bordering from classical philosophical arguments to strange and inherently erred logical and metaphysical questions. His book is a puzzle and open to the reader, there are several ways to debunk it and I actually More...

0 comments like

Jun 12, 2011

Nathan rated it:

Very interesting, and definitely as he claims, "a thought experiment." It's fascinating to read a serious (or at least thoughtful) book by an author you only know for their comedy. It's short and to the point. And for the first time in many years, I have a competitor to my concept of belief, one he terms probability. Also amazing new ways to view the speed of light, and motion. He says upfront that this is a work of curiosity, and that it should not be assumed that these views are More...

0 comments like

Apr 21, 2010

Drew rated it:

In the introduction, Adams says the book contains some big and potentially scary ideas and recommends it not be read by anyone under 14. Ironically, I think I would've liked this book more if I'd read it when I was 12 or 13. It's basically a very high-level introduction to a number of philosophical topics: Free will vs. Determinism, the mind/body dualism problem, etc.

If you don't have any formal philosophical training, it's a quick and interesting introduction to some of the great qu More...

0 comments like

Nov 02, 2011

Unigami rated it:

Even though I think Scott Adams is conceited dick, I have to admit that he appears to be extremely intelligent and has some interesting ideas. I also have to give him mega-credit for making this book available for free, to anyone that wants to download it.

I enjoyed this book, it gave me a new perspective, and I think anyone interested in philosophy, logic, physics, or math, will enjoy it too. However, I will caution seasoned students of these subjects that you will most likely no More...

0 comments like

Oct 30, 2011

Sankritya rated it:

While this book contains some resemblance to traditional view of what a thought experiment is (thought experiments are, in themselves, unconventional) , it is more of a dialogue on Metaphysics and Epistemology, many times dwelling on quantum physics, probability and such stuff. Pandeism is the central philosophical theme and should have been explored more in terms of quality and quantity. An interesting read and i enjoyed it as a skeptic. I had very high expectations once i saw "A Thought E More...

0 comments like

Feb 17, 2010

Jes. rated it:

Although the author recommends that you read his books in order, I'm glad I read them in reverse order. I would not have read the Religion War if I had read God's Debris first. It's very thought-provoking and wholly unique in its concept and execution, but I find that a lot of the answers from the man who knows everything to be pat, simplistic and easily argued. I think it was a little too lofty for Adams to believe that he could create such a character as this and execute him as well as he c More...

0 comments like

Nov 29, 2011

Jose rated it:

"The central character, according to the introduction, knows "everything. Literally everything." Adams, whose knowledge is as incomplete as the next person, got around this by using the aforementioned "simplest explanation" for each concept raised in the book because, while "in this complicated world the simplest explanation is usually dead wrong", a more simple explanation often sounds more right and more convincing than anything complicated."

I More...

0 comments like

Mar 12, 2011

Todd rated it:

The book certainly kept my interest for the short 133 pages, and I found myself to be in agreement with more than i felt comfortable with. Certainly the premise is absurd on the face (or tails) of it, and the supports are by no means air tight. But they make a great framework for his thought experiment.

If you enjoyed Clemen's 'Christian Science' or Hofsteder's 'Eternal Golden Braid' (two works that i couldn't help comparing it to) you might also enjoy this book for its wit and approach More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 02, 2009

Kassi rated it:

Scott Adams' introduction promises a lot and I was really looking forward to reading a book that lived up to the expectations that the introduction suggested. Unfortunately I found myself really let down with another book that reads a lot like any religious-type philosophy based on quantum physics. It's just a tired subject and it doesn't matter to this reader what came first, but with The Secret, What the Bleep do we know?, Waking life and any other "yeah, mans" movies and publication More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 11, 2008

Wm Jas rated it:

Thought-provoking, but not consistently well thought out. For example, it starts with the assumption that if God existed he would commit suicide (hence the Big Bang, and the book's title), self-destruction being the only goal challenging enough to hold the interest of an omnipotent being -- as if the desire to take on difficult challenges were somehow the inevitable result of high intelligence, rather than a contingent fact about one particular species psychology. Adams tries to take an unorthod More...

3 comments like (2 people liked it)

May 06, 2011

Ryan rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like

Apr 06, 2010

Amber rated it:

I liked it more in the beginning and then is waned as I read. It seemed contrived but there is an interesting model to think about. In general it doesn't really effect any of the most common ways that the world is understood but I think the reduction of everything towards probability is a definite over simplification. A short read, took me 2-3 hours while I was in classes taking lecture notes. Be sure to read the online version! http://images.ucomics.com/images/pdfs/sa...

0 comments like

Nov 09, 2007

Pspealman rated it:

The world may not be what we know it as. And with this trope, as old as the first piece of fiction, we off on a series of conjectures that don't seem to cohere, take too long to explain, and aren't even intelligible to the characters - let alone us as readers.

Which isn't to say that the book is worthless. At $16.95 for a slim 135 pages it better be worth something. The introduction, by far the best part of the book, is worth the 0.53 cents that I spent on each of it's pages. You More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 29, 2011

Anita added it

From the author of 'Dilbert', a book of very convoluted ideas / philosophies, which for the most part, are not expanded upon -- merely stated matter-of-factly. It does seem to ask of the reader to suspend the impulse to debate (the book's other central character already takes on that role), and to be engaged in thought processes that seem to revolve around semantics and vagaries. In its defense, the author states on the onset that: "The target audience for 'God's Debris' is people who enjoy More...

0 comments like

Jan 10, 2011

Joshua rated it:

There is little to write in reviewing something that is essentially meant to be socialization catalyst. Adams' novella is certainly a wildly intriguing experience; sometimes insightful and briefly profound. Ultimately it succeeds in doing what it sets out to, which is get the reader to think, and it is useless to point out the flaws in a work where the flaws are intentional and integral (a fact explicitly stated by the author at the start).

0 comments like

May 21, 2008

Viraj rated it:

The topic of the book could be controversial. I was recently burned deeply--though possibly unintentionally--when I was asked about my opinion by responding that I don’t believe in the concept what is normally believed as “God”. I had also added that the way it is utilized currently (from Osama and Evil Axes to those in power in Non-Evil Axes and those who caused riots and bombings in India… Never mind… This book takes a discussion approach and runs fast and deep. There were hardly any paus More...

0 comments like

May 03, 2009

Melissa rated it:

This was a wonderfully written book. It was almost impossible to put down, but luckily it's a short book so you can probably read it in one sitting. Even though it is a fictional piece, and the philosophy within should (like most works of it's kind) be taken with a grain of salt, it serves it's purpose and causes you to question and ponder along with the character as you are reading. A most charming thought experiment indeed!

0 comments like

reviews