NB. I was sent this book as a review copy.

From Princeton University Press

I am in two minds about this book. On the one hand, I hugely enjoyed it and it IS an incredible overview of the many beautiful facets and uses of information theory, from classical thermodynamics to the PageRank algorithm to Quantum Information theory and beyond. I thought that it dealt with entropy more clearly and interestingly than I’ve seen in any other textbook. The writing is at times poetic and at others very careful, and as such it was a pleasure to read it. On the other hand it is a 150 page (plus appendices) book, that covers wide, and complex ground and, in the preface states that “This book is an introduction that requires prior knowledge of neither thermodynamics and statistics nor information theory.” It is said that “The textbook is self-sufficient and contains no reference list.” However, I fear that both of these statements just aren’t quite correct.…

NB. I was sent this book as a review copy.

From Princeton University Press

I initially presumed that this book would begin with a relatively advanced level of coding knowledge before delving into neuroimaging. However, its broader scope makes it a far better and more thorough resource. In fact, coding discussions start only after the first 50 pages. The initial 50 pages provide a superb introduction to the prerequisites for Python coding. Two particularly notable areas, unusual for books of this type, are the in-depth introductions to version control (Git) and computational environments and containers (Conda and Docker). Such topics are often omitted from introductory coding books, leading to significant challenges for students with some coding experience. For example, many students end up reinstalling Linux due to not setting up a virtual environment, indicative of the widespread lack of awareness among those with intermediate coding knowledge. Moreover, in-depth discussion of version control is rare in books focusing on specific applied data science topics.…

NB. I was sent this book as a review copy.

From Princeton University Press

There is much to like about this book. Kevin’s discussions on evolution and neuroscience are detailed, clear, and insightful. His writing in general flows nicely and much of the book is definitely a useful text. However, for me, this does not include the sections which actually talk about free will.

The problems start early on in the book, on page 21 where he says (bold font mine throughout):

Meaning became the driving force behind the choice of action by the organism. That choice is real: the fundamental indeterminacy in the universe means the future is not written. The low-level forces of physics by themselves do not determine the next state of a complex system. In most instances, even the details of the patterns of neural activity do not actually matter and are filtered out in transmission.

NB. I was sent this book as a review copy.

From Princeton University Press

What a wonderful book! This book, made up of 26 chapters, is a look into the world of computer code, but more than that, about the interrelationship between people and code, from the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Each chapter is written by a different author, or pair of authors, and covers a massively wide range of subjects, from the first coders and programs, to the errors in code which have caused disaster, to the short lines of code which have had massive effects on society.

One thing to note is that people who are so often marginalised in modern computer science are given their voice and their rightful place. This includes the characters who are covered (including Jean Sammet, who I knew nothing about but who developed one of the most important and widely used programming languages to this day) to the LGBTQ+ community in Iran and how they used Telegram to get around the Revolutionary Guards.…

NB. I was sent this book as a review copy.

From Princeton University Press

Science so often lives in silos, or perhaps more accurately silos of Babel. We sit in our offices, ignoring a great deal of what is happening down the corridor from us, let alone in the building next door or the one on the other side of the campus.  A lot of this is down to inertia, and the academic culture of mistrust. But a great deal of the problem is down to the technical languages that, over the years, we become fluent in, and as we do so we shut out those other scientists who may actually be talking about something very similar, just in a complementary language.

The self-assembling brain is a book unlike any other that I’ve read, in that it is very explicitly trying to deal with this problem. The topic is that of the creation of the physical structures in the brain during, particularly, development.…