Lorenz Cuno Klopfenstein

Books (66)

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- God Is Not Great
- How Religion Poisons Everything
- By Christopher Hitchens
- Reading since Jun 2, 2009
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- The Dosadi Experiment (4)
- By Frank Herbert
- Reading since Jul 10, 2009
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- World Without End (30)
- By Ken Follett
- Finished on Dec 28, 2008
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- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (472)
- (Harry Potter, Book 7)
- By J. K. Rowling
- Finished on Nov 2, 2008
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- I Am Legend (70)
- By Richard Matheson
- Finished on Aug 18, 2008
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- Altered Carbon (17)
- By Richard Morgan
- Finished on Aug 12, 2008
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- Donnie Brasco
- By Joseph D. Pistone
- Finished on Mar 28, 2008
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- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (176)
- (25th Anniversary Edition)
- By Douglas Adams
- Finished on Mar 3, 2008
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- Ubik (15)
- By Philip K Dick
- Finished on Feb 22, 2008
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- The God Delusion (77)
- By Richard Dawkins
- Finished on Jan 17, 2008
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- Dreaming in Code (8)
- Two Dozen Programmers, Three Years, 4,732 Bugs, and One Quest for Transcendent Software
- By Scott Rosenberg
- Finished on Dec 24, 2007
  
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Dreaming in Code

Kind of depressing, but so true

Great book, very interesting. The main topics are many of the technical and not-so technical aspects of software development, explained clearly and in an understandable way, even for non-programmers.
Sometimes reading about the development cycles of "Chandler" is quite exasperating, as the peop ... (continue)

Great book, very interesting. The main topics are many of the technical and not-so technical aspects of software development, explained clearly and in an understandable way, even for non-programmers.
Sometimes reading about the development cycles of "Chandler" is quite exasperating, as the people commit all sorts of errors (as programmers or as humans) while you scream "don't do that" in your head. But while one of the programmers decides for the n-th time to change the "object storage system", you simply know you'd probably make the same assumptions and the same errors...
A realistic insight in software development. As Donald Knuth puts it: "Software is hard."

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— Mar 2, 2008 | Add your feedback
- The Eyes of Heisenberg
- By Frank Herbert
- Finished on Dec 10, 2007
  
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The Eyes of Heisenberg

*** This comment contains spoilers! ***

"There's a caprice in our universe. [Heisenberg] taught us that. There's always something we can't interpret or understand... or measure." The principle of indeterminacy in the words of gene surgeon Potter, who appears in the first pages of the book. The plot is set in a distant future, where ... (continue)

"There's a caprice in our universe. [Heisenberg] taught us that. There's always something we can't interpret or understand... or measure." The principle of indeterminacy in the words of gene surgeon Potter, who appears in the first pages of the book. The plot is set in a distant future, where natural selection has been overruled by the capacity of humans themselves to alter genes and to determine their offspring. The world is ruled by the Optimen, a caste of immortals who genetically determine the population of the world, splitting it in an artificially selected and bred caste of "breeders" and those who are sterile. Breeding is made possible only thanks to the gene surgeons, who adjust and define the genetic characteristics and the future of each embryo.
Frank Herbert describes a world where the use of technology has upset the biological stability of the reproductive system, where the birth of each individual - and the evolution of the species - is carefully scheduled following the logic of the Optimen.
But one day, that "something", an interference (which isn't defined by Herbert, but is called "the rhythm of life" or God, depending on the character), a reflection of Heisenberg's uncertainty, asserts itself and originates a new completely viable embryo, that could make the whole Optimen system crumble and would make the gene shaping process useless.
Herbert explores the perils of a world where reproduction is dominated by artificial selection and eugenetics, reprising many of the themes also present in his masterpiece Dune. The quite short and enjoyable novel concludes with a revolution of the social order (through natural child-bearing) which ends in a state of full indeterminacy: "Heisenberg would've liked this pattern. The movers themselves had been moved - and changed - by moving."

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— Mar 3, 2008 | Add your feedback