From: Mark Walker (tap@cgocable.net)
Date: Tue Apr 10 2001 - 05:07:52 MDT
----- Original Message -----
From: Damien Broderick <d.broderick@english.unimelb.edu.au>
> Sorry if I appear to be harping on this, but my book THE SPIKE (an updated
> edition of which has been available from Forge Books in NY since February)
> *is* `Singularity for [Wired] Dummies', sort of.
...
> It *isn't* a nuts&bolts book, nothing remotely like it. My intention was a
> book that conveys to the intelligent non-specialist reader just what the
> notion of a technological singularity is, how (comparatively) urgent the
> matter is, what variations on the theme have been explored so far, and
what
> some of the implications might be. For most of the readers on this list it
> will seem tame and self-evident. I'd like you to consider recommending it
> to those who need a `Singularity for Dummies'. (Eli makes more than a
guest
> appearance.)
>
I concur. I've recommended THE SPIKE to a couple of my students and plan to
buy a copy for my father when I see him in a few weeks. Anyone who is
interested in doing PR for the singularity ought to study this book in great
detail. It is, I believe, the best introduction to the subject available. It
is true that much of the book may seem tame and self-evident to those who
are used to arguing about what shade of goo is implied by some scenario, but
Damien also has one or two heretical opinions up his sleeve as well. I give
it the transhumanists' highest recommendation: three thumbs up. Mark.
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