Person
Every book Gwern Branwen recommended on podcasts
Gwern Branwen’s most recommended books
- Blindsight by Peter Watts
- Dracula by Bram Stoker, Jack Kelly
- Erewhon by Samuel Butler
- Hyperion by Dan Simmons
- Out Of Control by Kevin Kelly
- The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons
Gwern Branwen appeared on the Dwarkesh Podcast to discuss various literary works, science fiction, and technological history. During the episode, Gwern recommended Peter Watts's novel Blindsight, praising it as an unusually valuable work of science fiction and contrasting it with works he considered less insightful, such as the Xanth novels or the Star Wars Expanded Universe volumes. He also discussed Samuel Butler's Erewhon while tracing early visions of machine life and the Singularity, noting how Butler explicitly described autonomous machine development as early as the nineteenth century. Additionally, Gwern mentioned Dan Simmons's Hyperion and its sequel, The Fall of Hyperion, as science fiction books that deeply impressed him during his youth while explaining how he developed an early interest in Jorge Luis Borges. He referenced Kevin Kelly's Out of Control as part of the conceptual chain that led him to Borges via the parable of The Library of Babel. Finally, Gwern identified Bram Stoker's Dracula as the hidden literary source behind a story by Gene Wolfe, describing how the novel's plot of an invading presence stealing a woman and brainwashing the narrator explained the character's memory gaps.
Books recommended by Gwern Branwen
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Blindsight
Blindsight by Peter Watts is a grim, thought-provoking hard science fiction novel that explores themes of first contact, consciousness, and artificial intelligence.
Recommended“I could have easily cut it down to 20 novels or short stories which actually were good enough and insightful enough to actually change my view. One volume of Blindsight by Peter Watts is worth all hundred Xanth novels, or all 500 Expanded Universe novels of Star Wars.”
Where to get it
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Dracula
Dracula by Bram Stoker is a classic 1897 epistolary horror novel that established the modern literary vampire through its use of mixed-media documentation like telegrams and newspaper clippings.
Discussed“It turns out it's actually a subtle retelling of Dracula, where Dracula invades the town and steals the woman from him. He's been brainwashed by Dracula—in a very Bram Stoker way—to forget it all.”
Where to get it
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Erewhon
Discussed“If you want to trace the genealogy there, you'd have to at least go back as far as Samuel Butler's Erewhon in 1872 or his essay before that. In 1863, he describes explicitly his vision of a machine life becoming ever more developed until eventually it’s autonomous.”
Where to get it
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Hyperion
Hyperion by Dan Simmons is a celebrated science fiction epic that explores complex futuristic narratives, artificial intelligence, and interstellar civilizations.
Discussed“When I was younger, one of the science fiction books that really impressed me was Dan Simmons' Hyperion, especially The Fall of Hyperion.”
Where to get it
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Out Of Control
Out of Control by Kevin Kelly is a sweeping exploration of how cybernetics, artificial intelligence, and complex biological systems are converging to shape modern technology and human society.
Discussed“In there, he alludes to Kevin Kelly's Out of Control book, which strongly features the parable of “The Library of Babel.””
Where to get it
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The Fall of Hyperion
Discussed“When I was younger, one of the science fiction books that really impressed me was Dan Simmons' Hyperion, especially The Fall of Hyperion.”
Where to get it
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gwern — Anonymous writer who predicted AI trajectory on $12K/year salary | Dwarkesh Podcast | 2024-11-13 | 6 |