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4.28 AVERAGE
4.28 AVERAGE
dnf; too dense for me. probably genius, like so many readers say, but not my idea of enjoyable.
Really fascinating book, really enjoyed the read!
I think some of my favorite parts were centered on the alphago portion. That was really interesting to learn about.
I think some of my favorite parts were centered on the alphago portion. That was really interesting to learn about.
Very strange book! Epistolary for much of the book, seemingly about Von Neumann but morphing into the origin of Maniac, a first iteration of ai. Then the last ~70 pp are a great series of chapters about the defeat of go grand masters by ai.
challenging
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I ate this up partly due to Labatut’s almost hypnotic style of writing and partly due to the subject matter, which is practically tailored to my exact interests. I found the structure super interesting, and I’m curious now to find other novels that are composed of thematically related parts, if not totally narratively cohesive. I’ll definitely be picking up Labatut’s other work at some point.
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Kinda just two books. The first half about Von Neumann, and the second about AlphaGo. Interesting anecdotes, a lot I didn’t know about Von Neumann, will probably listen to another biography at some point. The AlphaGo trials were sweet, also learned more there.
4.5/5
John von Neumann changed the world. His fingerprints are everywhere - in mathematics, physics, computers, nuclear weapons, and game theory. The Maniac doesn’t tell a neat, chronological story of his life; it drags readers through a whirlwind of genius, madness, and the terrifying consequences of human intellect.
The book moves through von Neumann’s life, and shows him as the architect of modern warfare, artificial intelligence, and the logic that now governs our world. In the last part, it jumps forward, away from von Neumann, to tell the story of AlphaGo - the AI that mastered the ancient game of Go, humiliated human champions, and played moves no one had ever seen before. Von Neumann never saw this future, but in a way, he built the road to it.
Labatut’s writing is precise and elegant. It swings between history and fictionalized biography. One moment, you’re reading about the Manhattan Project; the next, you’re deep in the mind of a machine playing a perfect, almost alien game. I liked the end-result and “inhaled” the last part in one go.
If you like your history with a side of existential dread, The Maniac delivers.
Audiobook narration: good, but not inspired. With that said, I think audiobook format works very well for this kind of fictionalized biographies / non-fiction stories.
John von Neumann changed the world. His fingerprints are everywhere - in mathematics, physics, computers, nuclear weapons, and game theory. The Maniac doesn’t tell a neat, chronological story of his life; it drags readers through a whirlwind of genius, madness, and the terrifying consequences of human intellect.
The book moves through von Neumann’s life, and shows him as the architect of modern warfare, artificial intelligence, and the logic that now governs our world. In the last part, it jumps forward, away from von Neumann, to tell the story of AlphaGo - the AI that mastered the ancient game of Go, humiliated human champions, and played moves no one had ever seen before. Von Neumann never saw this future, but in a way, he built the road to it.
Labatut’s writing is precise and elegant. It swings between history and fictionalized biography. One moment, you’re reading about the Manhattan Project; the next, you’re deep in the mind of a machine playing a perfect, almost alien game. I liked the end-result and “inhaled” the last part in one go.
If you like your history with a side of existential dread, The Maniac delivers.
Audiobook narration: good, but not inspired. With that said, I think audiobook format works very well for this kind of fictionalized biographies / non-fiction stories.