Reading list

Being a software engineer and tech leader first of all means being a thinker. Computer science, bubble sorting, Kubernetes, and other things are coming after the ability to think.

Being a thinker means being on a constant run for new ideas, concepts, and models of different parts of reality.

In the next few weeks, I’m going to share with you some books that shaped my perspective on the world, tech, and to some extent on life itself.

I created and keep up-to-date lists of books that I recommend you to read.

Technology and humanan civilization

“Summa Technologiae” by Stanisław Lem

Non-fiction that explores the philosophical, ethical, and scientific implications of technological progress. Originally published in 1964, the book delves into various aspects of technology, from artificial intelligence to space exploration, questioning its impact on humanity and the universe. Why? This book has a high chance of redefining the minds of engineers and tech entrepreneurs. It gives very important perspectives on technologies humanity invented and on technologies that have to be discovered. It gives a broad perspective on the conceptual level of technological evolution, without going into deep subareas like AI or robots.

“Superintelligence. Paths, Dangers, Strategies” by Nick Bostrom

This book explores the potential consequences of the rise of artificial superintelligence. It explores AI from different perspectives: philosophy, computer science, and other disciplines. Why? Since we live in the AI era already, every tech-related person should have a decent understanding of the most important AI opportunities and challenges. The rise of AI is affecting all of us and we all have to be able to build our long-term plans having in mind the rapidly evolving AI landscape. This is the most popular and fundamental pop science book ever written about AI.

“The Emperor’s New Mind” by Roger Penrose

This is a thought-provoking exploration of the relationship between the human mind, consciousness, and the nature of reality. Published in 1989, the book challenges the prevailing view that the mind can be fully explained by classical computational processes and argues for the existence of non-algorithmic elements within human consciousness. Why? This is an alternative perspective on the possibility of the creation of superintelligent systems. Penrose comes up with the conclusion that consciousness is not “algorithmic”. It’s still possible to build an AI, but it will be completely different from the human mind.

“Solaris” by Stanisław Lem

A classical science fiction novel that takes place on a distant planet covered by a vast, sentient ocean. Spoiler alert! It turned out that the ocean is conscious and intelligent, but despite that, it can be understood by humans because it has a very different type of intellect. Why? A thought-provoking text that sheds light on two important problems: we have very poor understanding of what is intelligence and what is life. Answers to these questions may have a drastic impact on literally aspect of human existence and on the technologies we use and build.

Modern models and concepts explaining our physical reality and our perception of it

Spooky Action at a Distance: The Phenomenon That Reimagines Space and Time and What It Means for Black Holes, the Big Bang, and Theories of Everything George Musser

Data (but not the information) can be instantly transmitted in our Universe. Yes, it violates many laws of physics and questions everything we know about the world about us. And explanations of that are scary. Superdeterminism (your faith was fully defined with the Big Bang). Holographic principle (we are living in the projection of reality, but reality itself is somewhere not here). Hidden Variables Theory (we don’t know shit about physics and our physical models are irrelevant).

This book is hard to swallow because it pictures human beings (well, eventually, all biological organisms) as “survival machines” — vehicles or vessels for the propagation of genes. And only the propagation of genes, nothing more.

Dawkins offers us a logical (and pretty soulless) explanation of the origins of life and intelligence. The final and full explanation of what life is still has to be discovered, but this attempt clearly deserves to be heard.

“The Fabric of Reality” by David Deutsch

Deutsch argues for the existence of a multiverse, proposing the theory of the “fabric of reality” as a fundamental structure underlying the universe. Yes, every tiny second of your existence time and space splits into an infinite number of parallel universes.

“The Case Against Reality: Why Evolution Hid the Truth from Our Eyes”. by Donald Hoffman

it’s hard to believe, but the existence of 3 dimensions in our space was never confirmed. Along with the existence of time. Hoffman argues that our perceptions are not a direct reflection of reality but rather a useful fiction constructed by evolution to guide behavior. Drawing from evolutionary biology, neuroscience, and philosophy, Hoffman contends that natural selection has favored perceptions that prioritize survival and reproduction over accuracy, leading to a disconnect between what we perceive and what actually exists.