A book like this can only be written by someone like Sir David Attenborough. He has not just written about the things elaborated in this book, but he A book like this can only be written by someone like Sir David Attenborough. He has not just written about the things elaborated in this book, but he has actually lived and experienced it. And this lifelong vision brings up long-term big picture which is clearly evident in this book.
The key takeaway of this book is that we humankind as a whole are close to the tipping point of long term sustainability and survival. If we continue to act in the way we have in the past with massive deforestation, melting snowcaps, ruining oceans, increasing global temperatures and more, the future is bleak. However, we are smart and innovative and have solved grand challenges in the past and we are capable of doing that now. It is an urgent need of the hour to work in ways such that we can sustainably coexist on the only place we know, our planet Earth!
The book is wonderfully organized. It starts with a section on the experiences of Sir David Attenborough around the planet, of his journeys around the world capturing wildlife on camera so that we could watch it from home. It is like reading NGC / Discovery! However, the adverse effects of exponential unsustainable growth are evident and presented with real-life examples. The next section looks at the future and predicts what will happen if we proceed to act as though everything's fine. And the picture is definitely scary! Next section is how we the mankind can take steps in order to move towards an alternate version of a more sustainable future with a lot of biodiversity and where everyone can coexist. And it is presented in very well defined indicators. It is almost like a dashboard of key factors on which our survival depends which is called the doughnut model. Final section highlights how building a sustainable future is the greatest opportunity for our generation indeed! We can together build the future we imagine!
Major changes are required in many aspects of our lives, like adopting a plant based diet, recycling every thing that is used, using clean energy, minimizing carbon footprint and in general empowering everyone around the world. And it won't be sufficient if just some people do it. We need to build a system where it makes sense and is possible for everyone to adopt such lifestyle. Thus everyone including the government, agencies, regulatory bodies and individuals need to come together will a common initiative to build a future we want.
Only when we give back more than we take, can we bring back balance in the ecosystem. In the past, drives for saving a specific species have worked, now it's time to take steps for the "whole natural world". We are not "saving the Earth" but rather "saving ourselves" by building a sustainable future.
Profound and highly insightful book! One of my best reads of 2020!...more
This is one of the most thought-provoking books I have read. And I could relate even better because I work in the area of AI like the authors and manyThis is one of the most thought-provoking books I have read. And I could relate even better because I work in the area of AI like the authors and many of the examples and the final case-study is from this area. Also it's inspiring to see such deep insight coming from the tool they built called Picbreeder.
The core idea presented in the book is that "objectives" are unnecessary and rather a hinderance while solving "complex" problems. Objectives might be useful for simple problems where it is easy to chart out a path to the goal. However in case of more complex problems where the route to the goal is not known, objectives cause more harm than good.
Next, an alternate model is presented called the novelty search. It finds solutions based on how "interesting" the solution is rather than how close it is to an "objective". The authors connect this idea to the stepping stones, which is a great analogy. They argue that a complex goal lies somewhere in a hazy lake with a very low visibility. It is difficult or impossible to reach a specific goal in this lake and an objective in this case is like a "broken compass". However, it is much more relevant to explore the lake by finding new stepping stones based on novelty or interestingness and how many new stepping stones it can lead to. True success lies in exploring the space of the lake rather than trying to reach a specific imaginary point.
Finally, a variety of use-cases are discussed from education, innovation to evolution and AI where a novelty based approach makes more sense rather than an objective based approach.
This book presents an intriguing idea which can literally change the way we operate in life. Sometimes it gets a bit repetitive but overall it drives the point. I highly recommend this book!...more
Ever thought of a comic book about maths, philosophy and logic? Well that's what this is! It's a fun and cool comic based on the life of Bertrand RussEver thought of a comic book about maths, philosophy and logic? Well that's what this is! It's a fun and cool comic based on the life of Bertrand Russell which is almost close to reality. We see how the foundations of logic and maths were laid by eminent people during that time amid war and strife. Overall it's an interesting read with some pretty nice graphics! Also it's a quick read. I guess it is even more fun if one has read or studied some of the concepts discussed here atleast at a high level. Would love to read more books like these which depict science stories via comics!...more
Wow, it's an amazing book with a very unique storyline!
In the beginning, it is a bit slow and glum, and I'm happy I didn't leave the book at that poinWow, it's an amazing book with a very unique storyline!
In the beginning, it is a bit slow and glum, and I'm happy I didn't leave the book at that point. Actually the story is just building up initially.
The lead of the story, Nora, is just tired of her life and her life is filled with regrets. On a particularly bad day when a lot of things turn out badly for her, she just loses hope and meaning to live and decides to take her own life.
However, there's a twist and that's where the book begins. Between life and death, she reaches a library, where there are infinite books where every book is a version of her life from the current point onwards. She can choose any book and try out a different life! And come back to the library when a particular life is too much for her and try another one.
This part makes an interesting read and we understand many aspects of Nora's personality and life, like her dreams and ambitions, her family and friends, her personal and professional life. And while experiencing multiple Nora's lives, even we have many lessons to learn on the way. It highlights the importance of following one's dreams rather than someone else's dreams. It shows that a life with name, fame or money might not always be how we thought it would be. Sometimes how small and insignificant things in our opinion, might turn out to be so important. It shows the importance of meaning, direction and hope in life. And finally, most importantly, that we are the sailors of our life and we can always change the direction where we are heading! We might not always get what we expected but we have the power to choose what we should do next.
The book has some nice lines, which are quote worthy, some of my favorites are: * "Sometimes the only way to learn is to live." * "And there is no right way to play; there are many ways. In chess, as in life, possibility is the basis of everything." * "If you aim to be something you are not, you will always fail. Aim to be you." * "In becoming everyone, you are becoming no one." * "It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see." * "We don’t have to do everything in order to be everything, because we are already infinite."
Also, it has a great ending!
Overall, it's a thought-provoking book which makes us ponder on our lives. Ofcourse it has some sadness and despair but it also highlights the transformative power of being oneself! It touches on #MentalHealthAwareness so well!...more
An awesome sci-fi book! Each story is so well crafted that it makes you think and ponder. The stories are vividly built on a variety of themes like tiAn awesome sci-fi book! Each story is so well crafted that it makes you think and ponder. The stories are vividly built on a variety of themes like time-travel, robots, autonomy, artificial life, meaning and language and more. I also enjoyed reading the story notes where the author describes who or which incident in his life inspired him to write each story. Also, almost every story feels like an episode of Black Mirror. It's hard to keep this book down even though it is a collection of multiple short stories....more
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