Retired scientist, I read a lot, fiction and non-fiction, on a wide range of subjects, though science, politics, philosophy, law, science fiction and historical detective stories are favourites.
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Wall Street millionaire Carl Trudeau purchases an unsuspecting Mississippi State Supreme Court judge candidate when …
Centres around the worrying politicisation of the American Judicial system and way it opens avenues to for 'Justice' to be bought
The Hole in the Wall - G.K. Chesterton
Another country house mystery, from 1921 - in which we learn interesting things about the history of place names.
The other day a Zambian dropped dead not a hundred yards from my front door. The pathologist said that he had died of hunger.
— Include Me Out! by COLIN MORRIS (Page 1)
A 2023 nonfiction book by American neuroendocrinology researcher Robert Sapolsky concerning the neurological evidence for …
Chapter 2 - The Final Three Minutes of a Movie
Introduces Libet's experiments measuring brain activity when an experimental subject is making a choice. I would be interested to find out how these experiments interact with the more complex types of decision as described in Thinking, Fast and Slow
A 2023 nonfiction book by American neuroendocrinology researcher Robert Sapolsky concerning the neurological evidence for …
Chapter 1 - Turtles all the way down
Covers the author's impressive credentials, and introduces Laplace's demon and the interrelationship between determinism and free will, and between free will and moral responsibility. He also introduces the case of Phineas Gage, as a demonstration that our thoughts are determined by our brains.
A 2023 nonfiction book by American neuroendocrinology researcher Robert Sapolsky concerning the neurological evidence for …
I feel as if I have Free Will - interested to see if this can change my mind (or am I pre-destined to change my mind !)
The Black Bag Left on a Doorstep - Catherine Louisa Pirkis
A country house mystery from 1893, where the disappearance from the safe of the jewels of the mistress of the house seem to implicate the French Maid - a young girl from St Omer. From a social history viewpoint it is interesting that independent young people were travelling to other countries for employment.
Received as a Christmas present, from friends who know I enjoy historical detective fiction. Written in the late 19th and early 20th centuries these are set in the society of the time, so offer in interesting window into the era.
Oath of Fealty also features the advantages of cerebral implants, but also the worry of having a connection to a computer in your brain if you no longer trust that computer.
Plenty to mull over - if an artificially created intelligence is self aware, whether organic or machine based, can it/should it legally be property ?
Content warning I assume Simulants also use an implant for data access, in which case they will probably always to trackable.
Rather like [Brave New World](https://books.paladyn.org/book/3138/s/brave-new-world_ society is stratified into normal base level humans and 'Implanted' who have a cognitive implant allowing rapid access to information and some computer analysis. There are also Simulants, artificially created people, who remain the property of the corporation which created them and are leased to government departments and private firms for their superior analytic abilities.
Although I have read it all I will continue to dip into it, and keep enjoying it.
Randall's writing, and cartoons, are always entertaining, and I feel my mind has been expanded.
This book is set in the 1660's, and tells the story of Sarah Blundy who …
Quite a long and slow read, partly due to researching some of the historical characters. I may re-read it some time to see how it works now that I have the full picture.
This book is set in the 1660's, and tells the story of Sarah Blundy who …
Set during the Restoration, like Andrew Taylor's Marwood and Lovett series, which I enjoyed, and in Oxford, which I know, I still struggled to get into it at first. There are many references to real historical characters, but the Unreliable narrator technique made it hard like or identify with the main characters. It did come together in an interesting way at the end, and had broadened my knowledge of the period some of the notable people who appear in itl
