Book · 1957 · Fiction in English
The Black Cloud
The Black Cloud by Fred Hoyle has been mentioned in 5 episodes across 2 podcasts (1 episode recommends it and 4 episodes discuss it), through . Most frequently brought up by Richard Dawkins (1 episode), Lex Fridman (2 episodes) and Christof Koch (1 episode) on Lex Fridman Podcast (4 episodes) and Modern Wisdom (1 episode).
- episodes
- 5
- podcasts
- 2
- people
- 4
- episode recommends it
- 1
When I was about, I guess, 15 or 16, I remember reading a book by Fred Hoyle called "The Black Cloud," which, I was a budding biologist at the time, and this was the first time I'd come across someone really challenging the heart of biology.
Questions about The Black Cloud by Fred Hoyle
Who recommends The Black Cloud by Fred Hoyle on podcasts?
Richard Dawkins (1 episode) has recommended The Black Cloud by Fred Hoyle on podcasts. In all, 4 people brought it up across 2 podcasts (1 person recommended it).
Which podcasts mention The Black Cloud the most?
Lex Fridman Podcast (4 episodes) and Modern Wisdom (1 episode).
Is The Black Cloud recommended, or only discussed?
The Black Cloud by Fred Hoyle was recommended in 1 episode and discussed without a recommendation in 4 episodes, as of 2022-09-07.
What do people say about The Black Cloud?
Nick Lane on Lex Fridman Podcast (2022-09-07): "When I was about, I guess, 15 or 16, I remember reading a book by Fred Hoyle called "The Black Cloud," which, I was a budding biologist at the time, and this was the first time I'd come across someone really challenging the heart of biology."
When was The Black Cloud last mentioned on a podcast?
The Black Cloud by Fred Hoyle was last discussed on Lex Fridman Podcast by Nick Lane on 2022-09-07.
What they say about it
- Remembered reading in youth“reading a book by Fred Hoyle”2
- Classic science fiction story“science fiction story the black cloud”2
The best things said about it
When I was about 15 or 16, I remember reading a book by Fred Hoyle called 'The Black Cloud'.
About the black clouds book I think this by Fred Hoyle this is like this has great connections with sort of a lot of the advancements that are happening in NLP.
Lex Fridman Lex Fridman Podcast · Jul 2021 So when I think about for example do you know the science fiction story The Black Cloud okay it's a classic by Fred Hoyle the astronomer.
Lex Fridman Lex Fridman Podcast · May 2018 So when I think about for example do you know the science fiction story the black cloud okay it's a classic by Fred Hoyle the astronomer he has this cloud intervening between the earth and the sand the Sun and leading to some sort of to global cooling.
4 people who brought it up
Why people recommend it
The Black Cloud by Fred Hoyle is a classic 1957 hard science fiction novel by the renowned astronomer that depicts a massive, intelligent interstellar gas cloud entering our solar system and cutting off sunlight, leading to catastrophic global cooling. On the Lex Fridman Podcast, Richard Dawkins enthusiastically recommended the book while discussing influential science fiction masterpieces. Nick Lane also discussed the novel on the podcast, vividly recalling how reading it as a teenager profoundly challenged his understanding of biology by introducing him to the concept of non-carbon-based lifeforms and alien consciousness. Lex Fridman repeatedly referenced the novel across different episodes, noting its fascinating thematic connections to modern natural language processing and artificial intelligence advancements. Christof Koch joined the discussion to analyze the book's depiction of an extraterrestrial intelligence intervening between the Earth and the sun, utilizing Hoyle's classic story to explore radically alternative forms of consciousness, intelligence, and cosmic phenomena. Additionally, the host of Modern Wisdom referenced another science fiction project by Hoyle, A for Andromeda, to discuss hypothetical alien contact scenarios, highlighting the enduring impact of the astrophysicist's speculative storytelling on modern scientific and philosophical conversations about extraterrestrial life.
Every mention
Richard Dawkins Fred hil's the black cloud oh by the way anything by Arthur C Clark I find very very wonderful too uh Fred… 1
“Fred hil's the black cloud oh by the way anything by Arthur C Clark I find very very wonderful too uh Fred Hall is the black cloud his first science fiction novel”
Lex Fridman so when I think about for example do you know the science fiction story the black cloud okay it's a classic… 2
“about the black clouds book i think this by fred hoyle this is like this has great connections with sort of a lot of the advancements that are happening in nlp”
“so when I think about for example do you know the science fiction story the black cloud okay it's a classic by Fred Hoyle the astronomer”
Christof Koch so when I think about for example do you know the science fiction story the black cloud okay it's a classic… 1
“so when I think about for example do you know the science fiction story the black cloud okay it's a classic by Fred Hoyle the astronomer he has this cloud intervening between the earth and the sand the Sun and leading to some sort of to global cooling”
Nick Lane When I was about, I guess, 15 or 16, I remember reading a book by Fred Hoyle called "The Black Cloud," whic… 1
“When I was about, I guess, 15 or 16, I remember reading a book by Fred Hoyle called "The Black Cloud," which, I was a budding biologist at the time, and this was the first time I'd come across someone really challenging the heart of biology”
“When I was about 15 or 16, I remember reading a book by Fred Hoyle called 'The Black Cloud.'”
Mentioned on the show without a named speaker1
“or I don't know any kind of aid from Andromeda scenario if anybody's seen that old science fiction series basically anybody who doesn't know it was written by Fred Hoyle the astrophysicist in the 1960s and it depicts scientists detected no signal another planet”