We Are Not Saved

A meditation on technological divinity...

Don’t hold back guys, tell us how you really feel. If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All By: Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares Published: 2025 272 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? This book makes the AI doomer case at its most extreme. It asserts that if we build artificial superintelligence (ASI) then that ASI will certainly kill all of humanity.  Their argument in brief: the ASI will have goals. These goals are very unlikely to be in alignment with humanity’s goals. This will bring humanity and the ASI into conflict over resources. Since the ASI will surpass us in every respect it will have no reason to negotiate with us. Its superhuman abilities will also leave us unable to stop it. Taken together this will leave the ASI with no reason to keep us around and many reasons to eliminate us—thus the “Everyone Dies” part of the title. What's the author's angle? Yudkowsky is the ultimate AI doomer. No one is more vocally worried about misaligned ASI than he. Soares is Rob

A man who possessed a singular talent for making war and being duped.  Grant By: Ron Chernow Published: 2017 1104 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? A biography of Ulysses S. Grant, the greatest general of the Civil War, but also simultaneously one of the most guileless individuals ever profiled by a biographer. What's the author's angle? Chernow clearly thinks that Grant has been unfairly maligned as a corrupt drunkard, and this book is going to set the record straight. In Chernow’s telling, Grant was the best general of the war, one of the better presidents, and overall a very honorable man whose only fault was that he was far, far too trusting. I’m not saying that Chernow is wrong about any of this, merely that there is a touch of the hagiographic to this book. Who should read this book? I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every Chernow book I’ve ever read. They’re long, but they go down pretty easy. (Though reading about the brutality of reconstruction—i.e. the original Klu Klux Klan and its offshoots was extre

Chiefly Caused by Cytokine Cascades…  Chasing My Cure: A Doctor's Race to Turn Hope into Action By: David Fajgenbaum Published: 2019 256 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? Right as Fajgenbaum was finishing up the exams for his third year of medical school, he was struck by his first attack of idiopathic multicentric Castleman disease. It nearly killed him (last rites were administered). He went on to have four more attacks, each of which also nearly killed him, but somehow in between attacks he was able to research the disease enough that he eventually found something (rapamycin) which has (so far) kept additional attacks from happening. As an outgrowth of his own research he founded the Castleman Disease Collaborative Network.  What's the author's angle? This is one of those cases where the author has a large “angle”, Fajgenbaum has Castleman disease, and is very much advocating (in the course of the book) for more research and more funding for the treatment of the disease he has. This is not a bad ang

A small but powerful injection of Buddhism straight into your soul. The Dhammapada By: Unknown Translator: Gil Fronsdal Published: Sometime in the 3rd to 1st century BC 152 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? This is Buddhist scripture in a similar sense to how the New Testament is Christian scripture. In this case it’s 423 verses (as opposed to nearly 8,000 in the New Testament) all of which have supposedly been uttered by the Buddha. The verses are arranged into thematic chapters (Mind, Anger, Happiness, etc.) What's the author's angle? In theory the author is the Buddha, and his angle would be bringing the readers to enlightenment. In reality most people believe that the verses were compiled by early Buddhist communities. The angle I got out of it was the elimination of desire. Who should read this book? Given how important this book is to tens of millions of people, and how short it is (if you’re just looking at the verses absent commentary it’s around 10,000 words) I would say anyone who’s even remo

The more people you’re asking to forget the messier things become. A Primer for Forgetting: Getting Past the Past By: Lewis Hyde Published: 2019 384 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? The necessity of forgetting, as conveyed through a broad collection of stories, essays, quotes, reflections, etc. It’s more atmospheric than prescriptive. What's the author's angle? This is an important writer, doing important writing, lauded as important by other writers, teaching at an important university (for a time Harvard). None of this is necessarily bad, and it can be quite good, but you should know what you’re in for. Who should read this book? David Foster Wallace (who I greatly admire) called Hyde “One of our true superstars of nonfiction” though he can’t have been talking about this book since it was published long after he was dead. If his statement or anything in the last section piques your interest, then perhaps you will enjoy this book. I’m sorry I can’t be more specific. It’s that kind of book. Specific t

The history of attempting to make “controlled explosion” into something other than an oxymoron.  Ignition!: An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants By: John Drury Clark Published: 1972 216 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? An insider’s account of the always exciting, frequently terrifying, attempts to develop the perfect liquid propellant.  What's the author's angle? Clark was a program director, and he’s mostly telling personal stories about the vast effort to find better liquid propellants. His sense of humor is great and his disdain for bureaucratic minutiae is obvious. He’s one of those steely-eyed missile men you hear about.  Who should read this book? People interested in a behind the scenes look at a fascinating period of engineering and discovery. Specific thoughts: Once We Were Engineers

Bernard Cornwell's best (and shortest) historical fiction series.  The Warlord Chronicles By: Bernard Cornwell The Winter King Published: 1996 431 Pages Enemy of God Published: 1998 397 Pages Excalibur Published: 1999 436 Pages Briefly, what is this series about?  The Arthurian Legends turned into historical fiction. All the tales are related retrospectively by Derfel, a Saxon boy raised by Merlin who eventually becomes Arthur’s right hand man. Who should read this series? If you’ve read anything by Cornwell, but haven’t read this, you should. Not only is this Cornwell’s personal favorite of his series, it’s only three books, unlike the Sharpe series which is apparently up to 24 books?!? Even if you don’t know who Cornwell is, if you like historical fiction at all this is a great series. Specific thoughts: A realistic Arthur

The superior man uses his superior judgement to look superior on all the metrics.  The Tyranny of Metrics By: Jerry Z. Muller Published: 2019 248 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? The distorting effects of an over-reliance on metrics particularly when it comes to creating incentives. What's the author's angle? Muller was frustrated by the numerous metrics being imposed upon him in academia, frustrated enough to write a book about it. Who should read this book? If you’re in an environment where you feel like metrics are being overused and abused, this book can help you identify how that’s happening, and what you might be able to do about it.  Specific thoughts: Bad metrics are everywhere, why isn’t this problem better known?

Lawyers vs. Engineers. Infrastructure in America, China and Europe. Edmund Burke and the Revolutionary War.

Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future By: Dan Wang Published: 2025 288 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? The rise of China’s immense manufacturing prowess, where it comes from (a culture of engineering according to Want), and where it might be going. What's the author's angle? Wang has been putting out a well regarded annual letter on China for many years now. This is a distillation of his thoughts in book form. Also he has Chinese parents who often regret leaving China when they did.  Who should read this book? If you’re at all interested in what’s happening with China you should absolutely read this book.  Specific thoughts: Which theory of China is correct?

Shorting the Grid: The Hidden Fragility of Our Electric Grid  By: Meredith Angwin  Published: 2014 496 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? A deep dive into the convoluted nature of the electrical grid with a particular focus on how attempts to make it more effective through competition have failed. Beyond that Angwin describes how the challenge of integrating and encouraging renewables has turned a convoluted problem into an impossible one. What's the author's angle? Angwin is a blogger (her newsletter is titled “Electric Grandma”) who has dedicated her energies to the very narrow focus of the power grid and related issues. Before retiring she worked with the utilities as a chemist. Since then she’s been a consumer advocate, primarily in the northeast where she has been closely involved in the laws and regulations for many years. Who should read this book? This is a book for infrastructure nerds. Particularly if you’re interested in the fragility of infrastructure or the challenge of grid management in a

Strange New World: How Thinkers and Activists Redefined Identity and Sparked the Sexual Revolution By: Carl R. Trueman Published: 2022 208 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? The long philosophical journey that took us to the current prioritization of expressive individualism, and how this journey eventually carried us to a strange new world, where expressive sexual/identity politics seem normal if not inevitable.  What's the author's angle? Trueman is a Christian, and this book is written towards a religious audience.  Who should read this book? Trueman’s previous book, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self is one of my all-time favorite books. (You can see a review here.) This covers basically the same territory, but in a shorter, more accessible format. If you’ve read his longer book, you can probably skip this one, but if you haven’t then I would recommend this book to anyone trying to understand the modern world.  Specific thoughts: It is indeed a strange new world

How much of the mania is inherent to crypto and how much is just SBF? Cryptomania: Hype, Hope, and the Fall of FTX's Billion-Dollar Fintech Empire By: Andrew R. Chow Published: 2024 416 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? The 2020-2022 crypto boom. Three groups stand out. The scammers, as represented by Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF). The idealists, as represented by Vitalik Buterin and the victims as represented by African NFT artist Owo Anieti.  What's the author's angle? Chow definitely thinks that there was a crypto bubble that popped in 2022 with the implosion of FTX. Whether he thinks crypto is a bubble in its entirety is less clear. He’s definitely not a crypto booster. Who should read this book? I mostly read it to partake in some schadenfreude at SBF’s expense. It delivered on that. If you have similar desires I would recommend it, but it also did a great job of outlining the craziness of that era. What Black Swans does it reveal? The collapse of FTX played out over a much shorter time period than the

Should I translate someone's glee at the murder of Charlie Kirk into an actual willingness to commit it?

Things Fall Apart (The African Trilogy, #1) By: Chinua Achebe Published: 1958 209 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? The main character is Okonkwo, and saying that he’s complicated is to put it mildly. He’s desperately afraid of failure, which in his case means following in the footsteps of his father. On top of the complexity of Okonkwo there’s the additional complexity and richness of the Igbo culture: its customs, its gods, its method of delivering justice, etc.  Into this rich and (for me) strange world, the Europeans arrive. Though not till around the 2/3rd mark. The consequences are perhaps not as bad as you might fear, but they’re bad enough. Who should read this book? I quite enjoyed the book, and it was certainly different from my normal fare. Also it reads quickly. Finally, it’s widely regarded as a modern classic. I’m not sure I have a good reason why you wouldn’t read this book.  Specific thoughts: The flattening of colonialism

Remain in Love: Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, Tina By: Chris Frantz Published: 2022 208 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? The life and musical career of Chris Frantz and his wife Tina Weymouth. With particular attention paid to his antagonistic relationship with David Byrne, the front man for Talking Heads, a band they were both members of.   What's the author's angle? Frantz seems to be going for three things here. First it’s an ode to his wife. Second it lays out his side of the fight between him and Byrne. Finally it’s a snapshot into the origin of punk in the late 70s. Who should read this book? If you’re a huge Talking Heads fan. Or if you really want a behind the scenes look at what it was like to be in a band in the late 70s. Otherwise I would skip it.  Specific thoughts: The fact that he’s stayed married for all these years counts for a lot.

Regretting Motherhood: A Study By: Orna Donath Published: 2017 272 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? Donath interviewed 23 Israeli women who regretted motherhood. In most, but not all, cases these mothers asserted that they still loved their children, they just didn’t like the responsibilities and restrictions that came with being a mother. In some cases they only realized this after having children, in other cases they knew they would regret motherhood, but reported feeling forced into it by societal, patriarchal, and pro-natal pressure.  What's the author's angle? This book belongs to the “unsilencing” genre. Donath is “unsilencing” mothers who regret their motherhood. Whether they are actually being silenced just in Israel in 2017, or everywhere even now is a good question, but outside of the scope of this review. Donath herself does not want kids, so she’s not an unbiased observer of things.  What's my angle? This was recommended to me as a counterpoint to Hannah’s Children by Cathrine Pakaluk (see

Perhaps it's not how fast technology moves, but where it's impact is felt? Also S-curves...

The Rules of the Game: Jutland and British Naval Command By: Andrew Gordon Published: 1996 708 Pages Briefly, what is this book about? An incredibly detailed examination of the battle of Jutland, combined with an equally detailed history of naval command, and its failings in the lead up to the battle.   What's the author's angle? Gordon’s target is excessive signalling. And he’s written a very long book to demonstrate just how bad it was.  Who should read this book? You have to be pretty committed to WWI naval history or military minutia before this is the book you should be reading. But if you are, it’s excellent.  Specific thoughts: Militaries acquire bad habits during peacetime; it’s hard to know which of these habits might end up causing great harm