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Popular Highlights in this book
But a smart machine will first consider which is more worth its while: to perform the given task or, instead, to figure some way out of it. Whichever is easier. And why indeed should it behave otherwise, being truly intelligent? For true intelligence demands choice, internal freedom.Highlighted by 90 Kindle readers- Everyone wants to commit a villainy without having to feel like a villain.Highlighted by 89 Kindle readers
- Who’d ever have guessed, in my day, that digital machines, reaching a certain level of intelligence, would become unreliable, deceitful, that with wisdom they would also acquire cunning?Highlighted by 79 Kindle readers
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A fun, easy sci-fi dystopian that grapples with some serious issues
Ok, so I don't want to give too much away here. This short book, almost a novella really, takes you on quite a ride, and I really enjoyed not knowing where it was going, so I'm not going to say too much about the plot. But basically it starts in one dystopian future, where the main character is at a convention about solving the worlds many serious problems, and then it takes you to another, where all of those problems have been solved by technology - and pharmacology in particular.This is referred to as a psycho-chemical society or "chemocracy," and the science has advanced so much that cheap and readily available drugs can be used to bring about any desired mental state. Specific dreams can be ordered and received in pill form, books are no longer read but consumed, and drugs can even be taken to make one more moral, compassionate, or understanding."A caveman would also resist a streetcar."And that's all I want to say about the plot. But what follows are some really cool twists and Matrix style "what is reality," "where is technology taking" us philosophy, as well as some psychology, sarcastic humor, dystopian conflict, and just a little bit of politics."Averroes, Kant, Socrates, Newton, Voltaire, could any of the have believed it possible that in the twentieth century the scourge of cities, the poisoner of lungs, the mass murderer and idol of millions would be a metal receptacle on wheels, and that people would actually prefer being crushed to death inside it during frantic weekend exoduses instead of staying, safe and sound, at home?"I enjoyed this. It was a fun, easy read that dealt with some serious topics and made me think. I'm always amazed too when I read a book that's been around for a while (this was first published in 1971), and I realize how many newer ideas that I thought were so original have been contemplated by great thinkers before. Definitely going to check out more from this author.
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Top reviews from other countries
Eoghan Fitzsimons
Strangest Book Ever (in a good way)
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 23, 2022
