Episode · Lex Fridman Podcast · 2020-10-22
Books mentioned on #132 – George Hotz: Hacking the Simulation & Learning to Drive with Neural Nets
George Hotz (geohot) is a programmer, hacker, and the founder of Comma.ai.
George Hotz recommended Infinite jest by David Foster Wallace, Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, Permutation City by Greg Egan, The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect by Roger Williams, and Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, and discussed Philosophy by Ayn Rand, Foundation by Isaac Asimov, A Fire Upon The Deep by Vernor Vinge, and Bronze Age Mindset by Bronze Pervert.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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Infinite jest
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace is a sprawling, maximalist novel exploring addiction, entertainment, and modern American culture.
Recommended“Let me know if you have any recommendations what three books technical or fiction or philosophical had an impact on your life or you would recommend perhaps uh maybe we'll start with the least controversial uh infinite jest”
Where to get it
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Atlas Shrugged
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand is a sprawling philosophical novel that presents the author's theory of Objectivism through a dystopian narrative about a society collapsing under the weight of anti-capitalist regulations and government overreach.
Recommended“it's called atlas shrugged um which uh atlas drug is pornography i mean it is i will not i will not defend the i will not say atlas shrugged is a well-written book it is entertaining to read certainly just like pornography the production value isn't great”
Where to get it
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Philosophy
Ayn Rand's nonfiction works, including her philosophical essays collected in volumes such as 'Philosophy: Who Needs It', present her philosophy of Objectivism in an accessible format.
Discussed“and i'll set that up for the second book which is pornography it's called atlas shrugged um uh which um atlas drug is pornography i mean it is i will not i will not defend the i will not say atlas shrugged is a well-written book it is entertaining to read certainly just like pornography the production value isn't great”
Where to get it
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Permutation City
Permutation City by Greg Egan is an imaginative and mind-bending science fiction novel that explores the complex implications of digital consciousness, virtual reality, and software-based AI simulations.
Recommended“i could give these these two i'll just throw out uh there's sci-fi uh permutation city um great things to start thinking about copies of yourself and then uh that is uh greg egan uh he's uh that might not be his real name some australian guy might not be australian”
Where to get it
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The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect
The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect by Roger Williams is a thought-provoking science fiction novel set in a post-singularity world that explores the complex boundaries between human agency, advanced artificial intelligence, and artificial constructs of reality.
Recommended“and then this one's online it's called the metamorphosis of prime intellect um it's a story set in a post-singularity world it's interesting is there uh can you if either of the worlds do you find something uh philosophy interesting in them that you can comment on i mean it is clear to me that uh metamorphosis prime intellect is”
Where to get it
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Foundation
Foundation by Isaac Asimov is a classic science fiction masterpiece that follows a visionary mathematician who establishes a refuge to preserve human knowledge and shorten a dark age following the collapse of a galactic empire.
Discussed“i've been working through the foundation i've been i've haven't read much sci-fi my whole life and i'm trying to fix that the last few months that's been a little side project”
Where to get it
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A Fire Upon The Deep
A Fire Upon The Deep by Vernor Vinge is a celebrated hard science fiction novel known for its imaginative world-building, space opera scope, and foundational explorations of the technological singularity.
Discussed“fire upon the deep is interesting”
Where to get it
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Snow Crash
Neal Stephenson's groundbreaking cyberpunk novel Snow Crash immerses readers in a chaotic future America defined by corporate franchising, hyper-inflation, and a virtual reality network known as the Metaverse.
Recommended“everyone should read snow crash if you haven't read those like start there”
Where to get it
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Bronze Age Mindset
Bronze Age Mindset by Bronze Pervert is a controversial political manifesto that critiques modern egalitarian culture and champions a return to heroic, vitalist ideals inspired by antiquity.
Discussed“and if you want the controversial one bronze age mindset”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (1) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
“i feel like dune i've never read dune i've never read dune i have to read it”