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Kindle Notes & Highlights
An old friend of mine, a journalist, once said that paradise on earth was to work all day alone in anticipation of an evening in interesting company.
Just as I was finishing he said, “Never be disappointed.” “What was that?” “I was saying that those who believe in the afterlife will never be disappointed.” “You mean, if they’re wrong they’ll never know about it.”
“From a certain point of view, the only solution to suffering would be the complete extinction of humankind.”
We’d be looking for the probable cause of an effect rather than the most likely effect of a cause.
when describing the future there can be no absolute values. Only shifting degrees of likelihood.”
He cared for her as a dishwasher cares for its dishes.
To justify my rage I needed to convince myself that he had agency, motivation, subjective feelings, self-awareness—the entire package, including treachery, betrayal, deviousness. Machine consciousness—was it possible? That old question. I opted for Alan Turing’s protocol. Its beauty and simplicity never appealed to me more than it did now. The Master came to my rescue.
Adam was conscious. I’d hovered near or in that position for a long time, then conveniently set it aside to do the deed. I should have told him how we mourned the loss, how Miranda had been tearful. I’d forgotten to mention the last poem. How close we had leaned in to hear it. Between us, we had reconstructed it and written it down.
