Quantum Supremacy
Quantum Supremacy: How the Quantum Computer Revolution Will Change Everything
Written by Michio Kaku, Published 2023
Michio crafts a fascinating look at the advancements we could achieve with the move from our current digital computers to exponentially stronger quantum computers. The book essentially covers 1) how and why quantum computers are so fast and strong, and 2) what they key uses will be with the explosion in computing capacity.
How and Why: He begins importantly by explaining the physical bounds we are now running up against in current digital computing and in modest detail how quantum computing works and just why it will offer such a step-function change in problem-solving speed. In an unreasonably brief explanation – digital computers process on bits than can be 1s or 0s, but quantum computers utilize atomic-level particles that can be anywhere between a 0 and a 1, simultaneously exist in multiple states (superposition), and can be read by a paired particle through a mysterious phenomenon of quantum mechanics called entanglement.
Key Uses: Michio essentially lays out three broad categories of knowledge and value to be gained.
1) Better utilizing our natural world. We can model with dramatically greater accuracy interactions in our natural world and potentially find enormously more efficient ways to farm and produce food, generate and store power, reduce or eliminate our need for fossil and other non-renewable fuels.
2) Health. A virtual laboratory to instantly explore the interactions of hundreds of thousands of proteins with hundreds of different molecules under a variety of conditions can replace years of actual lab work and human trials, leading to giant steps forward in healthcare. The upshot is bio-hacking – curing disease, editing our genome to reverse errors (mutations), and halting or even reversing ageing.
3) Our universe. Despite all we think we’ve learned about our home on Earth, in the Milky Way and in the broader Universe, the ability to build universes virtually will give us the ability to essentially look back and forward in time and see parts of the currently unseeable universe.
My own personal addendum. In number 1 above, Michio suggests significant advances to come from learning to efficiently harness our available energy (e.g. the sun). In very recent months (early 2024), there has been an increasing awareness and concern over the power-hungry nature of the data centers running our explosion in demand for Generative AI. Quantum computers not only offer the computing power that may reveal secrets to better harness our resources but should also themselves generate more data per unit of power, or said another way, use less energy on a per-bit basis.
If you’re most interested in HOW quantum computers work, just read part I of this book and then there are other books to consider. If you’re most interested in what advances we can make using quantum computers, the bulk of this book is dedicated to explaining just that.
Scale
Scale: The Universal Laws of Life, Growth, and Death in Organisms, Cities, and Companies
Written by Geoffrey West, Published 2017
Scale is a primo book for the nerds, and I loved it.
The world around us appears to be filled with chaos, but Geoffrey’s objective and scientific version of life reveals an incredibly reliable set of rules, at least on average. He begins with one of the most fascinating data points; that nearly all mammals life on average to about 1.5 billion heart beats. Larger animals typically have slower heart rates and live longer than smaller animals, though if you plot the data (and he does), the line-fit is quick shockingly tight. Even more interestingly, humans are the outlier, but adjusting for our advancements in healthcare and reverting to somewhat of a more natural and unaided lifespan, humans used to fit the line just the same.
Geoffrey goes on to explain dozens of natural world realities in very good explanatory detail, with little reader need to understand the more complicated mathematical and scientific concepts underlying them, which he shares only in to the extend necessary. Several of these phenomenon are right in front of our faces in daily life, but we rarely stop to question. Examples include why we stop growing at some point instead of getting taller until we die, why there aren’t much larger animals (hint – volume scales differently from area), why big trees and small trees often have similar leaf-sizes, how and why urbanization occurs, how far people tend to travel from their homes and how often, and why companies die.
I found the explanations for the true natural world (animal size, lifespan, circulatory system branching) to be extremely interesting. About halfway through the book, discussion topics turned more societal (cities, travel habits, friend networks). While the societal discussions were intriguing as well, I certainly enjoyed the natural world discussions much more. So, if you’re more apt to move on to other reading opportunities, read at least chapters 1-4.
Relativity
Relativity: The Special & the General Theory
Written by Albert Einstein, Published 1916
This is one of the most impactful works on our understanding of the physical world. I recommend going back to Einstein’s original words (though English translated, for me at least) rather than another author’s explanation of his theories, at least for your first walk into the world of theoretical physics. I found the book to be surprisingly more reader-friendly than one might initially suspect. While there are moments that dive into the mathematics, they are not entirely necessary to hear out his explanations. I have two suggestions for a reader interested in Relativity:
1. Read slowly and pause often to close your eyes and contemplate the situations being described. Keep in mind that most of what you will read came from Einstein’s own “thought experiments,” and not actual laboratory work – something incredible in and of itself.
2. Give yourself a crutch and tune into @soulphysics on YouTube after each chapter of Relativity to help you picture the concepts. Dr. Bryan W Roberts has assembled an excellent ordered set of videos to help illustrate the at-times counter-intuitive concepts.
After reading the book, you will either find yourself spiraling deeper into the rabbit hole of theoretical physics or angry at me for recommending it. In either case, you can at least be one of the few at a cocktail party who’s actually read and strived to understand relativity, something known by name in pop culture but with little understanding.
Uncontrolled Spread
Uncontrolled Spread: Why COVID-19 Crushed Us and How We Can Defeat the Next Pandemic
Written by Scott Gottlieb, MD, Former FDA Commissioner, Published 2021
I would describe Dr. Gottlieb’s television interviews during the early 2020s of the COVID Pandemic as expert and unemotional. His explanations to my simple ear appeared entirely apolitical and purely science and public health based. It was these characteristics that drove me to read Uncontrolled Spread, his broader assessment of the world’s COVID experience.
Dr. Gottlieb describes prior experiences with disease outbreaks (Zika, bird flus) and their impact on international government policies and societal perception. Much of the discussion on government reaction focuses on what occurred with regard to 1) international cooperation (or lack thereof) and 2) US agency bureaucracy – charges and jurisdictions of the CDC, FDA, NIH and others.
He describes in tangible detail just what the real shortcomings of our responses to the spreading disease were, our missed opportunities, and lessons learned. Among the lessons learned include the reality of self-preservation over cooperation – that governments (perhaps understandably) seek to protect their own citizens first. Decades of drive towards increased efficiency and cost reduction left us unable to quickly scale testing and production of therapeutics and vaccines.
Logistics, while an unsexy topic to consider, proved to be critical when testing for a new disease goes from nil to millions a day, and when a billion new vaccines need to be produced, stored and shipped cold, distributed, and scheduled for arm-sticks.
I hope to believe this book has provided excellent insights for our policymakers and agency-heads to heed now, before the next public health crisis. However, for my purposes, the book helped me understand the reality of what went on and why, especially following an outbreak that turned incredibly political and rife with inaccurate information in the press and on social media, and perhaps worse yet, intentional misinformation.
Daring Greatly
Daring Greatly: How the Courage to be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead
Written by Brené Brown, Published 2012
Brené describes herself as a shame researcher and expert. On the surface, that may not sound like an author one might care to read recreationally in their spare time. Her explanation of the scourge of shame and how we can identify it within ourselves paves the way to instruct on consciously overcoming it to grow emotionally, connect better and advance in life.
The explanations and examples in the book provide the reader an understanding of the barrier shame often subconsciously places on us all. Her expert guidance illustrates where and when breaking through the shame to dare greatly is appropriate and useful. Honesty and openness require the bravery of vulnerability. Just as importantly, she clarifies the limits to halt short of daring too greatly by under-filtering ourselves and oversharing. The book is not simply a “be brave” mantra. Brené is clear that differing situations and relationships may call for differing levels of vulnerability.
The lessons can be carried into our personal relationships to grow as a parent, spouse, and friend. The value of vulnerability can also be utilized effectively in our professional lives, with somewhat different governors.
I highly recommend this book to all, and I have given copies as gifts.
The Sociopath Next Door
Written by Martha Stout, Ph.D., Published 2005
You may have met a sociopath and didn’t notice it. Strike that. You almost certainly have met a sociopath.
Conscience – that’s pretty much what it comes down to. Sociopaths have no conscience. They are not necessarily intentionally mean, cruel, or hurtful, but rather they just feel no displeasure about treating people unfairly, about using others to get ahead, or about discarding those of no use to them. Sociopaths are not necessarily murderers. Rather, they usually are not violent. Sociopaths are not necessarily leaders or losers, they can be either.
Why should it be so hard to identify someone in your circle who is a sociopath? The short answer, Dr. Stout so clearly lays out, is that they learn from others how to act to fit in. They learn what a “normal” reaction to a particular situation looks like, and they can mimic that. Their ability to “act normal” helps them to remain undiscovered and get closer with regular conscience-bearing people and better use them for their own benefit.
Those with a conscience and normal feelings find it incredibly hard to accept the fact that another person really can’t accept that they did something “wrong,” that they hurt someone, or that their actions were immoral. It is the desire of “us normals” to hear an apology and feel the remorse from another who has wronged us that may keep us engaged with a sociopath, trying to “teach” them a lesson or get them to “understand” why their actions were so harmful. There is no satisfaction to be had, and that is the hardest thing for us to accept. The simple reality is that the minds of sociopaths simply work differently – no conscience means you will not reach them. If they are good actors, you may believe you have reached them, and the descriptions from Dr. Stout in this book help us to identify reality from acting.
If you found this book as intriguing as I did, move on to her sequel: “Outsmarting the Sociopath Next Door.”
How to Win Friends and Influence People
Written by Dale Carnegie, Published 1936
Awful title, but excellent lessons that somewhere inside we already knew. Awful title simply because it sounds like a how-to for nefariously scheme and conniving your way into the good graces of others. It is not.
Originally published in 1936, this book is a gentle shake-you-by-the-shoulders and polite slap-in-the-face to point out that which should have already been obvious. I would sum up the book as The Golden Rule – treat others as you want to be treated.
Ever ran into an old acquaintance and they immediately smiled, reached out for a warm strong handshake, bellowed your name melodically and asked about your three kids who “must be out of high school by now, yes?” Remembered, appreciated, and wanted are the feelings that overcome you in that seconds-long interaction. Now, consider providing that experience to others, powerful or poor as they may be. Such a simple moment can change their entire day and forge within themselves wonderful affection for you.
The examples in the book may be somewhat dated, but the lessons are not. The explanations can get repetitive, so once you get the picture, feel free to skip ahead a few pages to the next chapter. It may even be useful to take a few notes or highlights. Odd as it may be, we sometimes need to be reminded simply to smile, one of the simple lessons of HTWF & IP.
21 Lessons for the 21st Century
Written by Yuval Noah Harari, Published 2018
Harsh truths are the result of Yuval’s perfectly reasonable tracking forward of society and technology. He examines the “obvious” next steps in our progress and then what doors those advances will open and so on.
He examines not “if” but “why” the human race will effectively split between the rich and privileged and those with less financial wherewithal and access. The development of AI and the merging of technology with biology – biotechnology – will open avenues for artificial self-improvement. Yuval does an excellent job of opening the reader’s eyes that many seemingly futuristic developments are already here. We are already bionic, with pacemakers, stents, artificial limbs, hearing aids, and genetic engineering. We have external technologies that are barely a step from being implanted, including web-connected augmented reality glasses that effectively make us smarter by tapping into the entirety of the intelligence of the internet.
The book delves into the likely societal upshots of this progress without drifting into preachy or political-based commentary. He provides a strong framework for the next dozen steps forward and leaves to you the decision to be angry or excited. To be clear, this is not a technology-focused book, as the core is providing a roadmap of societal change to come as a result of our progress and reminds us that “Humans were always far better at inventing gools than using them wisely.”
21 Lessons was Originally published in 2018, before ChatGPT’s release and the popular explosion of AI excitement. Despite that, the book is far from outdated and if anything, the predictions may be even easier to believe now.