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Every book Pamela McCorduck recommended on podcasts
Pamela McCorduck appears on the Lex Fridman Podcast to discuss artificial intelligence, sharing historical perspectives on the early days of the field and the pioneering figures involved. During her appearance, McCorduck discussed several foundational texts and literary works that relate either to the technical evolution of AI or to early conceptual notions of automated beings. She mentioned working on Computers and Thought, edited by Edward A. Feigenbaum and Julian Feldman, describing it as the first textbook of readings in artificial intelligence. Expanding beyond technical literature, McCorduck touched upon classical and canonical works, noting how Homer's Iliad contains early depictions of robots and referencing the enduring cultural resonance of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. She also discussed personal and literary connections from her past, mentioning that Herb Simon had read Marcel Proust in the original French and recalling novelist Mark Harris and his famous baseball novel Bang the Drum Slowly. Finally, McCorduck reflected on her own writing career, discussing her notable book Machines Who Think and sharing her retrospective thoughts upon finishing the project and wondering about the ultimate success of the technology she documented.
Books recommended by Pamela McCorduck
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Bang the Drum Slowly
Discussed“there was a novelist in town a man named Mark Harris he had just just arrived and his wife Josephine mark was most famous then for a novel called bang the drum solo slowly which was about baseball and Joe and me so eight people and we met monthly”
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Computers and Thought
Discussed“and before that I had worked on a book by edited by Feigenbaum and Julian Feldman called a computers and thought it was the first textbook of readings of AI”
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Frankenstein
Frankenstein by Mary W.
Discussed“it's the Frankenstein idea yes the annotator Frankenstein on my coffee table is this tremendous novel”
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Machines Who Think
Discussed“and even when I finished machines who think I didn't know if they were gonna succeed”
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The Complete Short Stories of Marcel Proust
Discussed“and herb had read Proust in the original French twice all the way through”
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The Iliad
The Iliad is an ancient Greek epic poem attributed to Homer that chronicles the dramatic final weeks of the Trojan War and the wrath of Achilles.
Discussed“if you read Homer Homer has robots in the Iliad”
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The Odyssey of Homer
The Odyssey of Homer by Homer is an ancient epic poem recounting Odysseus's arduous journey home from the Trojan War and his encounters with various mythological trials.
Discussed“If you read Homer Homer has robots in the Iliad and a classical scholar was pointing out to me just a few months ago”
Where to get it
Books Pamela McCorduck wrote
Appearances
| Episode | Podcast | Date | Books |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pamela McCorduck: Machines Who Think and the Early Days of AI | Lex Fridman Podcast | 2019-08-23 | 11 |
Other mentions (1: passing, ad reads, own books)
“mark was most famous then for a novel called bang the drum solo slowly which was about baseball”