🤯 Wut? ChatGPT implemented in Minecraft?

This project reminds me of when developers booted Windows 95 inside a JavaScript VM in a browser, then launched the Netscape Navigator browser in the VM running in the browser. Hat tip: Michael Haupt.

Deep Time by Ian Douglas (1999)

This sixth book in the "Star Carrier" series is much better than the last one.  The fleet battles rage in fun space operatic fashion.  First-contact scenarios with inscrutable, cryptic aliens are intriguing and we are willing to suspend disbelief.  Even the time travel elements fail to detract from the plot and story arcs.  Heroic close-combat continues to pulse.  The awe-and-wonder space opera elements are all represented.  The big picture narrative of the invasion of our universe by beings fleeing their universe's heat death is wonderful.  Humanity deals with a civil war and forges pacts with space aliens amid existential battles. The story faces the "Singularity" question of whether the technology explosion will cause extinction or enable survival. Fun! 4/5 Stars.

Sunward by William Alexander (2025)

This book is terrible!  There is no science at all.  The plot is bizarre, random contrivances. I put it down after a few dozen pages. 0/5 Stars.

Lions and Scavengers by Ben Shapiro (2025)

Ben Shapiro's book crafts an allegory contrasting Enlightenment-driven wealth creation with socialist power grabs aiming for equal outcomes through wealth redistribution. The ecological model—hunters versus scavengers—starts strong, illustrating humanist rationality against emotional collectivism. Yet, the analogy falters. Shapiro introduces "weavers" and forces mismatched behaviors into the framework, muddying the narrative. Douglas Murray's On Democracies and Death Cults tackles similar themes with sharper clarity, avoiding speculative motives and strained metaphors. Shapiro's evidence and judgments on justice and policy hold weight, but selective scripture quotes and ascribed dark intentions to political actors weaken his case. The book gestures at insight but collapses under its own contrivances. I do not recommend this book. 3/5 stars.

What's With Baum by Woody Allen (2025)

Having grown up on the East Coast in a culture similar to the author's, I appreciated the book's sense of place. The descriptions of New York—its streets, sounds, and smells—are vivid and precise. The characters feel authentic, shaped by familiar neuroses, habits, and rhythms of speech.

The plot, however, is less engaging. Without a shared context, the inner turmoil of writers, artists, and critics carries little weight. The publishing-world drama that drives the story feels insular. I admired Allen's humor and self-awareness, but the novel's appeal depends heavily on cultural familiarity. Readers without deep ties to New York's intellectual circles may find it remote.  4/5 stars.

Dark Matter by Ian Douglas (2014)

Dark Matter, the fifth novel in Ian Douglas's Star Carrier series, pushes humanity's struggle into new cosmic territory where intelligence, evolution, and divinity blur. Admiral Trevor "Gray" Grayman leads his fleet against not only alien forces but also the unsettling prospect that consciousness itself may be a cosmic weapon.

The premise is ambitious but uneven. The vast scale of the multiverse and its alien hierarchies promises awe, yet the story sinks under repetition and pseudo-science. Physics, sociology, and psychology appear as hollow exposition rather than tools that move the plot or deepen character. The best parts—the space combat and the mystery of the "posthuman" entities—are buried beneath long detours on AI, memeplexes, and vacuum energy.

The novel aims for transcendence but rarely achieves coherence. I may continue the series for its scope, but this volume disappoints. 2/5 stars.

Retired Today!

I am grateful for colleagues, mentors, and the journey.  I am excited for what's next -- and may return if the right opportunity comes along.

When everyone knows that everyone knows by Steven Pinker (2025)

Why do groups keep up stories everyone knows are false—where each person sees the truth but pretends not to? Why do we tolerate polite hypocrisy, subtle bribes, half-hidden threats, or strategic flirtation? As someone wired for blunt honesty, I've long been baffled by these layers of social theater that seem to breed confusion and harm.

Steven Pinker's new book takes this puzzle apart with his trademark clarity, drawing on research in evolution, linguistics, and game theory—from the prisoner's dilemma to "The Emperor's New Clothes." He argues that shared fictions and mutual pretense aren't just signs of human weakness; they are tools that keep social life running. Sometimes truth is too volatile, and a bit of collective make-believe prevents conflict or preserves dignity.

What's most compelling is how Pinker turns apparent irrationality into evidence of strategic intelligence. The very evasions that frustrate literal-minded people serve an adaptive purpose, softening the blunt edges of honesty in complex societies. In an age flooded with misinformation, the book offers a sharp framework for seeing when concealment unites and when it corrupts.

Nothing has changed how I think about communication this profoundly since Kahneman's Thinking, Fast and Slow. This is Pinker at his best—precise, surprising, and deeply relevant. 5/5 stars.

Second Thoughts on the imminent Pop of the AI Bubble

The internet is buzzing with entertaining rants and doomsday predictions about the AI hype bubble's bursting any day now. Critics love to paint it as a fleeting fad doomed for a spectacular crash. Here are some of my favorite takedowns (links to the originals for your doom-scrolling pleasure):

• Fabio Ciucci's tweets
  
• Ed Zitron's fabulous vitriol
  
• Cory Doctorow's rant
• Nichil Suresh (of course)
• Vantille
• Ash Milton's sober article

Investors, meanwhile, obsess over "timing the top": Ride the wave of inflated expectations to the peak, then cash out before the plunge into the "trough of disillusionment." Smart strategy? Not so fast. Not so fast!

Because I am old, I see parallels to the Visicalc era of spreadsheets—the groundbreaking 1979 software that sparked a revolution but got crushed in the shakeout wars. What emerged? Microsoft Excel, the "evil empire's" powerhouse that now generates about $70 billion annually for Microsoft (MSFT). Valued alone at around $684 billion (excluding its vast ecosystem), Excel proves how one dominant tool can redefine industries. If AI proves even more transformational, $1 trillion in returns isn't just possible—it's within striking distance  

Wiser voices than mine argue this "hype bubble" won't deflate in one massive correction. The traditional Gartner Hype Cycle might not even apply here. Instead of a single pop, expect a series of refinements as AI matures into practical, profitable dominance. The real winners? Those who build for the long game, not the quick flip. What do you think—bubble or breakthrough?

The woman who smashed codes by Jason Fagone (2017)

I picked up The Woman Who Smashed Codes on the recommendation of colleagues who thought it might appeal to me because of its loose connection to cybersecurity. They were right. The book tells the story of Elizebeth Smith Friedman, a pioneering American cryptanalyst whose work laid much of the groundwork for modern codebreaking and national intelligence.

Fagone's writing is vivid and accessible. He brings the early 20th century to life through rich scenes and authentic dialogue that reflect the social norms, speech patterns, and intellectual energy of the time. What I particularly enjoyed was how the book captures that era's mindset—its optimism, its limits, and the quiet revolutions happening in scientific thought long before most people realized it.

The book does not shy away from the entrenched sexism Elizebeth and her peers faced, yet it handles those issues with balance. Fagone's tone is indignant where necessary but never heavy-handed. The result is both a tribute and a well-researched historical narrative.

Elizebeth's story also intersects with the birth of information theory and the cryptographic advances that would eventually culminate in Claude Shannon's 1939 work. Reading about her pre-Shannon efforts underscores how revolutionary those later ideas were, and how much of modern computing owes to the hidden labor of people like her.

For readers unfamiliar with cryptography, the book explains enough to make the puzzles and breakthroughs intelligible without drowning in mathematics. For readers who already know the field's history, Fagone's attention to archival detail and his portrayal of Elizebeth's marriage to fellow codebreaker William Friedman add valuable depth.

As a PhD in computer science and an avid reader of historical narratives grounded in real scientific and social change, I found this book deeply satisfying—both as history and as storytelling. It's an absorbing portrait of an overlooked figure whose intellect shaped the course of modern intelligence work.  5/5 Stars.