Technology & Science
Chip War
Chris Miller
A gripping exploration of the high-stakes battle for semiconductor supremacy between the United States and China, revealing how chips have shaped geopolitics, the global economy, and the balance of military power. From the Cold War origins of Silicon Valley to the cutting-edge foundries of Taiwan, discover the intricate supply chains and strategic decisions that have made semiconductors the world's most critical technology. It is a geopolitical thriller masquerading as a history of technology. Written by economic historian Chris Miller, the book argues that the modern world is not built on steel or oil, but on silicon. It frames the semiconductor industry as the central battlefield in the rivalry between the United States and China. Miller traces the history of the microchip from the early days of Silicon Valley to its current status as the most complex manufacturing process humanity has ever achieved. He highlights the extreme fragility of the global supply chain. The entire world relies on advanced chips that can only be produced by a single company, TSMC, located on the vulnerable island of Taiwan. Furthermore, the machines required to print these chips are made exclusively by the Dutch company ASML. The book explains how the United States lost its manufacturing dominance while retaining control over the critical software and tools used to design chips. Miller asserts that this control allows the US to weaponize the supply chain, cutting off adversaries from computing power. "Chip War" is a sobering look at how a tiny piece of silicon determines the balance of military power and the future of the global economy.
Supersizing the Mind
Clark, Andy
Supersizing the Mind: Embodiment, Action, and Cognitive Extension by Andy Clark is a landmark work in cognitive science and philosophy of mind that challenges the idea that thinking is confined to the brain. Instead, Clark argues that our minds are deeply integrated with our bodies, our actions, and the world around us, including the tools and technologies we use. Clark shows how traditional cognitive theories have often ignored the role of bodily interaction and environmental context in shaping thought. Drawing on research from psychology, neuroscience, linguistics, artificial intelligence, and robotics, he builds a sustained case for what is known as the extended mind—the idea that aspects of the physical and social environment actively participate in cognitive processes rather than merely providing input to an isolated brain. This book provides both a comprehensive survey of contemporary work in embodied and situated cognition and a bold philosophical argument for rethinking the boundaries of the mind. Supersizing the Mind is essential reading for anyone interested in how thinking, action, and environment interconnect to produce intelligent behavior.
Lost Moon
Jim Lovell
Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13 by Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger is the gripping true story behind one of NASA’s most dramatic space missions. Told by Apollo 13’s commander and a seasoned journalist, the book takes readers from the routine preparations for what should have been America’s third moon landing to the moment when an explosion aboard the spacecraft turned the mission into a desperate struggle for survival. Lovell and his crewmates—Jack Swigert and Fred Haise—were more than 200,000 miles from Earth when a critical failure crippled their oxygen and power systems. Stranded in space with dwindling resources, the astronauts and NASA’s ground team in Houston worked against the clock, improvising solutions to bring the crew safely home. Lost Moon combines technical insight with vivid firsthand narrative, offering both an insider’s view of life aboard a crippled spacecraft and the tension-filled efforts on Earth that made the mission’s safe return possible. The book inspired the acclaimed 1995 film Apollo 13 and stands as a testament to human ingenuity, courage, and teamwork under extreme pressure.
Data and Goliath
Bruce Schneier
The bargain you make, again and again, with various companies is surveillance in exchange for free service. Google’s chairman Eric Schmidt and its director of ideas Jared Cohen laid it out in their 2013 book, The New Digital Age. Here I’m paraphrasing their message: if you let us have all your data, we will show you advertisements you want to see and we’ll throw in free web search, e-mail, and all sorts of other services. It’s convenience, basically. We are social animals, and there’s nothing more powerful or rewarding than communicating with other people. Digital means have become the easiest and quickest way to communicate. And why do we allow governments access? Because we fear the terrorists, fear the strangers abducting our children, fear the drug dealers, fear whatever bad guy is in vogue at the moment. That’s the NSA’s justification for its mass-surveillance programs; if you let us have all of your data, we’ll relieve your fear. The problem is that these aren’t good or fair bargains, at least as they’re structured today. We’ve been accepting them too easily, and without really understanding the terms. Here is what’s true. Today’s technology gives governments and corporations robust capabilities for mass surveillance. Mass surveillance is dangerous. It enables discrimination based on almost any criteria: race, religion, class, political beliefs. It is being used to control what we see, what we can do, and, ultimately, what we say. It is being done without offering citizens recourse or any real ability to opt out, and without any meaningful checks and balances. It makes us less safe. It makes us less free. The rules we had established to protect us from these dangers under earlier technological regimes are now woefully insufficient; they are not working. We need to fix that, and we need to do it very soon.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Douglas Adams
Seconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor. Together, this dynamic pair begin a journey through space aided by quotes from The Hitchhiker's Guide and a towel.
Nexus
Yuval Noah Harari
"Nexus" is a sweeping historical analysis by Yuval Noah Harari, the renowned author of Sapiens. In this work, Harari investigates how information networks have connected the world and why these connections now threaten to destroy it. He challenges the modern assumption that more information automatically leads to truth and wisdom. Instead, he argues that the primary function of information is to create social order. Harari traces the evolution of human networks from the oral traditions of the Stone Age to the complex bureaucracies of the Roman Empire and the Catholic Church. He demonstrates that history is often driven by the friction between truth and order. Most successful networks sacrifice truth to maintain stability, a trade-off that has allowed civilizations to scale but has also enabled mass delusions and totalitarian regimes. The narrative culminates in the urgent threat of Artificial Intelligence. Harari warns that AI is fundamentally different from every previous information technology. Unlike the printing press or the radio, AI is not just a tool for human distribution. It is a non-human agent capable of making decisions and generating new ideas entirely on its own. "Nexus" argues that by inviting an alien intelligence into our social web, we risk losing control of our own history.
Postcapitalism
Paul Mason
A compelling exploration of how information technology is reshaping capitalism and paving the way for a postcapitalist future. Paul Mason analyzes the inherent contradictions of neoliberalism, the rise of collaborative production, and the potential for a new economic model that prioritizes sustainability, equality, and human freedom. Discover the forces driving this transformation and the challenges that lie ahead in this thought-provoking guide to our future.
Co-Intelligence
Ethan Mollick
"Co-Intelligence" is a pragmatic and accessible guide to the AI revolution written by Ethan Mollick, a professor at the Wharton School. Unlike many theorists who speculate about the distant future, Mollick focuses entirely on the messy, practical present. He argues that AI is not merely a new tool like a calculator or a search engine, but a distinct form of "alien" intelligence that acts more like a talented but erratic intern. Mollick urges readers to stop treating AI as software that follows clear instructions and start treating it as a coworker. The book centers on the concept of the "Jagged Frontier." This theory explains that AI capabilities are uneven. It can pass the Bar Exam in the 90th percentile yet fail at simple arithmetic or basic logic puzzles. Because this frontier is invisible and constantly shifting, the only way to understand what the AI can do is to use it relentlessly for everything. The book outlines four principles for working with AI, emphasizing that humans must remain the "human in the loop." Mollick categorizes users into two types: Centaurs, who divide tasks clearly between human and machine, and Cyborgs, who integrate their workflow so deeply with AI that the line blurs. "Co-Intelligence" is a call to action to experiment, inviting us to invite AI to the table before we are left behind.