Helpful votes received on reviews:
100% (2 of 2)
Location: Seattle, WA
In My Own Words:
Hi, I'm 22 years old, with an interest in parallel universes. I look vaguely like Neuron, the woman on the cover of Pickover's book, 'Sushi Never Sleeps.' My favorite food is Indian food, and I enjoy books written by Connie Willis and William Gibson.
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Reviews
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Neuromancer is special because of its density of ideas. This very density can sometimes make the book difficult reading, but in the end, the reader finds it worth the effort. "Cyberspace" was barely in its infancy when Gibson wrote this book, and I wonder how he would have written the book differently if he wrote it today. What would a book like Neuromancer be like if written 30 years from now? As the pace of technology increases, it's amazing that this book still displays a stark freshness.
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I found this book interesting primarily for one reason. It made me wonder whether cellular automata like the ones highlighted in the book or in Conway's Life could actually create "true life". In other words, given enough time on a big enough "playing board" would complex societies of beings develop on par with biological life in terms of their complexity and lifelike behaviors. If so, why can't we see more research directed to this very goal: to create life in a computer -- life that surprises us, that can teach us, creatures that live and dream.
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I found the puzzles and problems in this book to be original and varied, and with a wide range of difficulty levels. I enjoyed the fact that some puzzles might actually have more than one answer, which leaves room for healthy debate and for better understanding the way different people think. I think this book can be enjoyed by readers of different levels of mathematical sophistication. For example, a freshman in high school could skip the more difficult problems, like the one on Ramanujan Congruences, although this is one of the most interesting chapters. My favorite chapter is one that poses a statistics-like question, dealing with bones thrown into a pit. You have to figure out the… Read more
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