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4.28 AVERAGE
4.28 AVERAGE
(Leído principalmente en casa con un partido del Barça de fondo).
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Really enjoy Labatut's style of writing and his take on historical fiction. I preferred the first two thirds of this book because I found the setting, characters, and ideas more interesting than the final third (which focuses on a completely different character).
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
adventurous
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
This is one of those books that had me thinking, "How did I not know more about this person/subject?" In this case, it was the quantum mechanists and mathematicians of the 20th century, specifically Von Neumann, whose confluence with some of the greatest scientific minds and discoveries of the 20th century is mind-boggling. Told in a few parts, the novel wrestles with brilliance and madness of the scientific times and the brilliant and mad scientists who were pushing boundaries.
How is a novel about mathematics and quantum mechanics so good? No idea, but I'd recommend it to anyone.
How is a novel about mathematics and quantum mechanics so good? No idea, but I'd recommend it to anyone.
dark
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
challenging
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I got along with the author’s previous book better than this one. Perhaps his style was new and catchy enough for me the first time around. In the end, they both have a shallowness to me that comes from a combination of the lack of technical content (sure, not everyone wants this) and the gossipy content. Some of the personal (fictional) stuff was engaging enough, but much of it felt irrelevant to me.
I mean, I got my computer science graduate degree at a school on von Neumann Drive. Important guy, indeed he was. But I guess I was looking for more depth in this fictional portrait. If you’re going to mention the continuum hypothesis, for example, maybe say what it is or just leave it out. Put the accomplishments in perspective of subsequent work.
It was kind of fun to flash back to my past in mathematics and remember how insane the set theorists were and how close I came to joining them in insanity during my set theory classes. Cantor wrecks me.
The AlphaGo section just felt tacked on. I must be missing something.
This made a sort of bookend to my reading year that started with atomic bombs. Rhodes’ The Making of the Atomic Bomb was a superior read.
I mean, I got my computer science graduate degree at a school on von Neumann Drive. Important guy, indeed he was. But I guess I was looking for more depth in this fictional portrait. If you’re going to mention the continuum hypothesis, for example, maybe say what it is or just leave it out. Put the accomplishments in perspective of subsequent work.
It was kind of fun to flash back to my past in mathematics and remember how insane the set theorists were and how close I came to joining them in insanity during my set theory classes. Cantor wrecks me.
The AlphaGo section just felt tacked on. I must be missing something.
This made a sort of bookend to my reading year that started with atomic bombs. Rhodes’ The Making of the Atomic Bomb was a superior read.
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated