Darwin among the machines
by George Dyson · first published 1997
80% recommend20% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Engaging history of Samuel Butler's 1863 essay on machine evolution and the rise of global intelligence networks; recommended to readers curious about the origins of computing and its links to biology and evolution.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
In his prediction of the World Wide Web's ultimate challenge to human civilization--a globally networked, electronic, sentient being--Dyson traces the course of the information revolution, illuminating the lives, work, and ideas of visionaries who foresaw the development of artificial intelligence, artificial life, and the global mind.
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2012–2026Turing's cathedral
George Dyson
Recommended by 42 · mentioned by 5842 recommend · 58 mention42 recommend · 5842 recommend
2011–2026Erewhon
Samuel Butler
Recommended by 6 · mentioned by 196 recommend · 19 mention6 recommend · 196 recommend
2011–2026The Information
James Gleick
Recommended by 61 · mentioned by 8161 recommend · 81 mention61 recommend · 8161 recommend
2007–2026Hackers
Steven Levy
Recommended by 130 · mentioned by 188130 recommend · 188 mention130 recommend · 188130 recommend
…complexity theorist and Feynman nemesis, is enjoyable too. A complexity theorist friend of mine also recommended Rudy Rucker's "The Lifebox, The Seashell, and the Soul" to me, but I haven't read it. "Darwin Among the Machines" by Freeman Dyson's son (!) is frigging great, but that's now getting off topic.
on “Alpha Geek” ↗Turing's Cathedral Darwin Among the Machines Technomanifestos Possiplex What Technology Wants A couple of not computer related, but quite interesting books- The Structure of Scientific Revolutions A Thousand Years of Nonlinear History
on “Ask HN: Good books on the history of computer science?” ↗check out George Dyson's great book of the same title that covers Butlers' essay in detail Very recommended reading http://www.amazon.com/Darwin-Among-The-Machines-Intelligence...
on “Darwin Among the Machines (1863)” ↗…that adaptive processes (of which evolution is but a single example) tend to optimise for the criterion that is being selected for even in absence of an overarching design (‘proof’). I recommend reading Darwin Among the Machines for comparison to hardware.
on “How did software get so reliable without proof?” ↗…copy of * Datapoint: The Lost Story of the Texans Who Invented the Personal Computer Revolution, by Lamont Wood. * The Soul of A New Machine, by Tracy Kidder. * Books by George Dyson (son of ...): Darwin Among the Machines, Turing's Cathedral. (unrelated, but also give Project Orion: The Atomic Spaceship a go) * The Man Behind the Microchip: Robert Noyce and the Invention of Silicon Valley, by Leslie Berlin. * Richard…
on “Ask HN: What are some great posts or articles about history of computing?” ↗Not self-help books really but I can recommend the George Dyson trilogy for inspiration/perspective. Darwin Among the Machines Turing’s Cathedral Analogia I would also look into the possibility of attending a guided hallucinogen session a la Pollan
on “Ask HN: What are some good inspirational and uplifting books?” ↗…of Richard Feynman, Genius is also excellent. And Chaos and Time Travel: A History, although the latter looks at the subject from literary and philosophical perspectives as well as science. Pair with Darwin Among the Machines and Turing's Cathedral by George Dyson.
I learned about Butler and his letter from George Dyson's book, "Darwin among the Machines: The Evolution of Global Intelligence" -- it's a very entertaining account. Butler was quite a character. (If I recall correctly I learned about Dyson's book from a postscript to Neal Stephenson's "Quicksilver.")
on “George Eliot's reflections on AGI from 1879” ↗"Fun fact: he predicted singularity first (as a point in human history that we approach)" Arguably, this was first predicted in 1863 by Samuel Butler[1] in "Darwin among the Machines"[2], where he wrote about a coming time that machines evolve to replace humans. [1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Butler_%28novelist%29 [2] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin_among_the_Machines
on “Kurt Gödel's Letter to John von Neumann (1956) [pdf]” ↗Butler also wrote an interesting essay in 1863 called "Darwin Among the Machines" (the title which was later borrowed for a book by George Dyson). Butler was probably the first person to realize that natural selection could apply to machines as well as biological organisms https://web.archive.org/web/20060524131242/http://www.nzetc....
on “We need a Butlerian Jihad against AI” ↗