David
- 53
- reviews
- 104
- helpful votes
- 145
- ratings
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Artificial Intelligence Fundamentals
- By: Jean-Jacques Reibel
- Narrated by: Virtual Voice
- Length: 3 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 3
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Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 3
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Story3.5 out of 5 stars 3
In this book, the author discusses the various intricacies of Artificial Intelligence Fundamentals. The book is written for those with or without a technical background.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Contribution to Understanding? Or Psychedelic Fantasy?
- By David on 06-22-25
- Artificial Intelligence Fundamentals
- By: Jean-Jacques Reibel
- Narrated by: Virtual Voice
Contribution to Understanding? Or Psychedelic Fantasy?
Reviewed: 06-22-25
Sizeable intro at a graduate level on the topic of AI, including and largely based on speculation about an AI’s (and AI communities’) perceptions of the world: both what they would be and how they might be constructed.
I cannot decide if there was any value in it at all, so I plan to listen a couple more times and will update this review accordingly.
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Hello World
- Being Human in the Age of Algorithms
- By: Hannah Fry
- Narrated by: Hannah Fry
- Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 761
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 658
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 654
Hello World takes us on a tour through the good, the bad, and the downright ugly of the algorithms that surround us on a daily basis. Mathematician Hannah Fry reveals their inner workings, showing us how algorithms are written and implemented, and demonstrates the ways in which human bias can literally be written into the code. By weaving in relatable, real world stories with accessible explanations of the underlying mathematics that power algorithms, Hello World helps us to determine their power, expose their limitations, and examine whether they really are improvements.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Disappointing and meandering book
- By Sc on 02-10-20
- Hello World
- Being Human in the Age of Algorithms
- By: Hannah Fry
- Narrated by: Hannah Fry
Best Book In Years on the Subject of Algorithms
Reviewed: 05-02-25
Perfectly enjoyable, highly informative, full of new details on stories I’d heard before but clearly did not know.
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Beyond Weird
- By: Philip Ball
- Narrated by: Jonathan Cowley
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 203
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 176
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 174
An exhilarating tour of the contemporary quantum landscape, Beyond Weird is a book about what quantum physics really means - and what it doesn't. Science writer Philip Ball offers an up-to-date, accessible account of the quest to come to grips with the most fundamental theory of physical reality, and to explain how its counterintuitive principles underpin the world we experience.
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1 out of 5 stars
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A difficult listen
- By Ray on 03-17-19
- Beyond Weird
- By: Philip Ball
- Narrated by: Jonathan Cowley
Some refreshing approaches to the understanding of the quantum world. Our world.
Reviewed: 04-18-25
I liked the treatment of the misguided Everettian view of Many Worlds: use it for the insights it gives while discarding its overall preposterousness.
Professor Ball: do it again please.
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If Science Is to Save Us
- By: Martin Rees
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 4
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4
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Story4 out of 5 stars 4
Science is not just for scientists: if it were, it could never save us from the multiple crises we face. For science can save us, if its innovations mesh carefully into society and its applications are channeled for the common good. As Martin Rees argues in this expert and personal analysis of the scientific endeavor on which we all depend, we need to think globally, we need to think rationally and we need to think long-term, empowered by twenty-first-century technology but guided by values that science alone cannot provide.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Constant Nagging Diatribe
- By David on 03-15-25
- If Science Is to Save Us
- By: Martin Rees
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
Constant Nagging Diatribe
Reviewed: 03-15-25
A genuine desire to improve education for both the recipients of that education and of the public in general pervades the book. However it only briefly touches on the actual need to transcend the Doctoral system that perpetuates the fawning and ass-kissing that the system enthrones that doesn’t lend itself to real creative thought and research. Far be it from a doctoral student to have ideas out of line with old professor fudnik or Doctor pambynamby.
The revision of that system to more of a meritocratic mean is key.
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The Roman Empire
- A Very Short Introduction
- By: Christopher Kelly
- Narrated by: Richard Davidson
- Length: 5 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 16
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 15
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Story3.5 out of 5 stars 15
The Roman Empire was a remarkable achievement. It had a population of 60 million people spread across lands encircling the Mediterranean and stretching from northern England to the sun-baked banks of the Euphrates, and from the Rhine to the North African coast. It was, above all else, an empire of force - employing a mixture of violence, suppression, order, and tactical use of power to develop an astonishingly uniform culture.
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5 out of 5 stars
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I love it
- By Amazon Customer on 08-23-21
- The Roman Empire
- A Very Short Introduction
- By: Christopher Kelly
- Narrated by: Richard Davidson
A great deal of Apostrophe on how History is done
Reviewed: 07-15-24
Debates on Imperial Britain’s management of India are a level of extrapolation too far from what the book should have been…analysis of historiography would be a better description than The Roman Empire
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1 person found this helpful
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Renewable Energy
- A Very Short Introduction
- By: Nick Jelley
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell
- Length: 4 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 14
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 10
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Story4 out of 5 stars 10
Energy is vital for a good standard of living, and much of the world's population does not have enough. Affordable and adequate sources of power that do not cause climate change or pollution are crucial; and renewables provide the answer. Wind and solar farms can now provide the cheapest electricity in many parts of the world. Moreover, they could provide all of the world's energy needs.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Be prepared for poor narration
- By David on 05-15-24
- Renewable Energy
- A Very Short Introduction
- By: Nick Jelley
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell
Be prepared for poor narration
Reviewed: 05-15-24
Narrator does not know that kw is kilowatts GW gigawatts and so on. He reads them as k w and G W. it’s irritating. But the info is very worthwhile
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The Renaissance
- A History of Civilization in Italy from 1304 - 1576 AD, The Story of Civilization, Volume 5
- By: Will Durant
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 37 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 612
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 536
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 535
In this masterful work, listeners will encounter: the poets Petrarch and Boccaccio, the fathers of the Renaissance; the paintings, sculptures, and architecture of Milan, Florence, and Venice; the life and accomplishments of Leonardo DaVinci; the Catholic church and the popes of Avignon and Rome; the politicians and philosophers of Italy, including the Borgia family, Julius II, and Machiavelli; the Italian Wars, the conflicts with France, and the country's decline.
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2 out of 5 stars
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NOT the history of the Renaissance!
- By Doris on 07-30-19
- The Renaissance
- A History of Civilization in Italy from 1304 - 1576 AD, The Story of Civilization, Volume 5
- By: Will Durant
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
Beautiful Prose - Poetic Exposition
Reviewed: 01-04-24
There is nothing at all to dislike in this, unless length be not a merit.
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The Universe
- Leading Scientists Explore the Origin, Mysteries, and Future of the Cosmos
- By: John Brockman
- Narrated by: Antony Ferguson, Danny Campbell, Jo Anna Perrin
- Length: 12 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 180
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 156
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 157
In The Universe, today's most influential science writers explain the science behind our evolving understanding of The Universe and everything in it, including the cutting-edge research and discoveries that are shaping our knowledge. Lee Smolin reveals how math and cosmology are helping us create a theory of the whole universe. Neil Turok analyzes the fundamental laws of nature, what came before the big bang, and the possibility of a unified theory. And much more.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Equivalant to reading 25 books
- By Gary on 10-05-14
- The Universe
- Leading Scientists Explore the Origin, Mysteries, and Future of the Cosmos
- By: John Brockman
- Narrated by: Antony Ferguson, Danny Campbell, Jo Anna Perrin
Pronunciation Can Distract from Topic
Reviewed: 11-26-23
This is a marvellous collection of thoughts and debates by the top minds in Physics. Superb. However one of the readers has an irritating way of pronouncing various key scientific words. I wonder if he was expeerimenting with the audience. Spearmint is a flavour- not a scientific paradigm.
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How the World Really Works
- The Science Behind How We Got Here and Where We're Going
- By: Vaclav Smil
- Narrated by: Stephen Perring
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,049
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 874
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 866
We have never had so much information at our fingertips and yet most of us don’t know how the world really works. This book explains seven of the most fundamental realities governing our survival and prosperity. From energy and food production, through our material world and its globalization, to risks, our environment and its future, How the World Really Works offers a much-needed reality check—because before we can tackle problems effectively, we must understand the facts.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Let me save you a credit: progress is hard
- By Dalton on 06-06-22
- How the World Really Works
- The Science Behind How We Got Here and Where We're Going
- By: Vaclav Smil
- Narrated by: Stephen Perring
Mixed Feelings
Reviewed: 11-02-23
Excellent, technically, in all respects. A very real and realist/realistic approach on a wide-ranging field of topics.
However Smil is clearly a cheerleader of the status quo. His overall message is “things will go about how they have always gone, because we humans change little in our foresight and ability to pre-plan.
I get the impression that, were he sent back in time to 1899 he would have little to say about the “over enthusiastic proponents of horseless carriages. Flying machines a ridiculous fantasy”.
Worthwhile all the same.
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The Eerie Silence
- Renewing Our Search for Alien Intelligence
- By: Paul Davies
- Narrated by: George K. Wilson
- Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 219
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 173
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 175
Fifty years ago, a young astronomer named Frank Drake pointed a radio telescope at nearby stars in the hope of picking up a signal from an alien civilization. Thus began one of the boldest scientific projects in history, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). But after a half century of scanning the skies, astronomers have little to report but an eerie silence---eerie because many scientists are convinced that the universe is teeming with life.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Scientifically Curious? Hmmm.
- By Kathy in CA on 10-10-16
- The Eerie Silence
- Renewing Our Search for Alien Intelligence
- By: Paul Davies
- Narrated by: George K. Wilson
Big Headed Parochialism
Reviewed: 07-12-23
Don’t send music or art or philosophy to the aliens….send basic physics which they already know and learn in the nursery (if they even NEED to learn it). To send our “achievements” in science to a species thousands of years advanced beyond us would be silliness beyond belief.
Send something the aliens would really be interested by: “we have been searching here and here using these methods for this long and we only found YOU so far”.
You make yourself infinitely interesting and enjoyable by talking about the other person not yourself. :-)
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