God's Debris: A Thought Experiment
by Scott Adams
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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 brought up in...more
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 brought up in...more
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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.
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Read in January, 2008
recommended to Wm Jas by:
Christphre Campbell
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
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Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
Undervalued Delivery Personnel
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 know yo...more
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 know yo...more
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Read in May, 2008
recommended to Viraj by:
Swanandrecommends it for: People with open mind towards difficult to discuss concepts such as "God"
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 hardl...more
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Read in November, 2008
A provocative work by Adams, I was not sure he had it in him! I found several parts of this book make sense and several that I feel Adams forced and muddled through. Adams wrote several chapters that I feel are incomplete; he starts to explain a concept and leaves the reader hanging. Therefore, I have more questions and need to read it again; that is a good thing!
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Read in October, 2006
recommends it for:
Thinkers.
Well, this book does churn your mind and make you think of the "unknown." It features an old man who knows everything, and he and a delivery guy sit in his house through the whole book and shoot ideas back and forth. I mean, it is good that it gets you to think about that stuff, but it's not like Adams is the first one to explore this. Quite frankly, I've thought of almost every topic in that book, but maybe I think a little too much. Besides that, the story has no plot. They're just i...more
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Written by the creator of Dilbert, this is mildly thought-provoking. Mostly coming at morality from a utilitarian perspective, which isn't my cup of tea. The "God" of the central narrator (the Avatar) is odd, from my Catholic Christian perspective. He speaks of God in more of an abstract way than of the God of revelation (Tradition and Scripture). For the Avatar, all human perception is delusion, you should keep the delusions that are "useful", and the universe runs on pr...more
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Actually read this one a few years back. Found it a very interesting approach to religion and the meaning of life. Set in a Socratic Style, its the story of a guru and his newest disciple talking about the nature of the universe. Its not funny, nor is it meant to be, which may surprise fans of Dilbert cartoons. But it is an interesting read.
Ultimately, I found the arguments thought provoking, if rather unpersuasive. Still, its the sort of book that I would enjoy talking about with fri...more
Ultimately, I found the arguments thought provoking, if rather unpersuasive. Still, its the sort of book that I would enjoy talking about with fri...more
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This was given to me one day in a coffeehouse, and I couldn't put it down! It's written by Scott Adams who is the creator of "Dilbert." This book is a thought experiment and ask the question that if God truly has a plan for us then are we really in control at all, or is He just making us think we're in control? The mistakes we make are ours. Or are they? It also questions who (what) exactly is God. Is the combination of every living thing as a whole, God? Do we each carry a litt...more
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Read in September, 2006
recommends it for:
Open-minded people
This is a short story that that was released for free online. You can get a copy at http://www.andrewsmcmeel.com/g... if you're interested. It is a short story by the Dilbert dude that goes for the easiest possible answer to life's greatest questions. The answer he arrives at may offend those with traditional Christian conventions but, frankly, it shouldn't. There is more Hindu here than anything and I can't say that that doe...more
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Read in June, 2007
i really love this book, its made you (really) think by giving a logical simple arguments. a true power of simplicity.
i also amazed by the way he put his own fiction upon the existing science theory. perfectly fits.
I highly impressed with the arguments because I just an ordinary person with an average knowledge of reality, faith and science. i can sense the hole, but not sure how to point it.
so, if you are a flaw-pointers who get a sense of intellectual-superiority by pointing the ho...more
i also amazed by the way he put his own fiction upon the existing science theory. perfectly fits.
I highly impressed with the arguments because I just an ordinary person with an average knowledge of reality, faith and science. i can sense the hole, but not sure how to point it.
so, if you are a flaw-pointers who get a sense of intellectual-superiority by pointing the ho...more
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recommends it for:
People who know enough math and science to recognize pseudoscientific claptrap when they see 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.
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Read in January, 2007
this text is completely unlike anything Adams has ever written, and will surely get you thinking. the text is short and simple, but the ideas it presents are very complex. don't read it if you don't want to ponder the existential questions... :)
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This book is sort of a religion for atheists. It doesn't have much plot. I liked it -- I agree with most of its description of the universe, though if I had been asked I wouldn't have formulated it in quite such a whimsical way. This book is available free online.
Its sequel, "The Religion War," is not free, but you can buy it online. It's got more of a plot, and I liked it a lot. The main character is a very enlightened dude; he is introduced in "God's Debris." I don...more
Its sequel, "The Religion War," is not free, but you can buy it online. It's got more of a plot, and I liked it a lot. The main character is a very enlightened dude; he is introduced in "God's Debris." I don...more
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book data (includes all editions)
avg rating (all editions): 3.93 (370 ratings) avg rating (this edition): 3.92 (364 ratings) number of reviews: 64
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quote
"What does it mean to be yourself?” he asked. “If it
means to do what you think you ought to do, then you’re
doing that already. If it means to act like you’re exempt
from society’s influence, that’s the worst advice in the
world; you would probably stop bathing and wearing clothes.
The advice to ‘be yourself’ is obviously nonsense. But our
brains accept this tripe as wisdom because it is more comfortable
to believe we have a strategy for life than to believe
we have no idea how to behave."
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