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schumachr's review against another edition
1.0
i had to read this book for the my required environmental and technological ethics class, so i’m prefacing this review by saying that i did not voluntary read this book and i am uninterested in the study of ethics as a whole. i think ord’s exploration of existential risks and humanity-destroying catastrophes is interesting, but i think he neglects that each of these catastrophes will generally have a build-up that will affect marginalized groups more than others and that we can’t ignore the smaller problems to focus on the big ones. it is necessary to study and understand events that could destroy humanity and our planet, but we can’t do that at the expense of the current populations, especially those that are being faced with more pertinent issues like war, poverty, et cetera. this book is not my cup of tea and i hopefully won’t have to read any of his works again.
jedwards97's review against another edition
informative
fast-paced
2.75
This book served as a comprehensive introduction to many of the dangers facing humanity in the present and future, whilst delving into the repercussions of the past. For me it lacked an in depth analysis, something I was hoping for. Yet it may have fallen short due to my expectation rather than claiming to be something that it’s not. It’s great for anyone lacking knowledge on the subject areas, but for someone that’s already educated on the ideas I’d say it could be missed
remmerich1's review
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
5.0
To have written a book oh this scale, drawing from such varied fields, binding them together, and presenting so clear and concise a summary of existential risk is a phenomenal achievement.
I tried to follow the foot notes at first, and planned to read the appendices but they get densely scientific and mathematical, and I found I was more frustrated with my reading pace than I was getting from them. Accepting that and just reading the text as presented (as Ord encourages the casual reader to do) helped me stick with the flow and narrative of Ord's arguments far more easily.
The book runs through various forms of risk, why we should think about them now, how we might mitigate them, and an overview of where humanity might go in the future. Its endlessly fascinating, and Ord does a good job of distilling wildly dense scientific ideas and mathematical concepts into plain language- with greater depth available for those who are interested, you can always check his working.
The book filled me with hope, fundamentally. Not that we WILL survive, but that there's no real reason why we CAN'T. If we pull ourselves together, the upper limit on our existence doesn't really exist. Tens, or hundreds, of billions of years, with a humanity stretching across the stars, experiences, perceptions, forms, stories, art, games, lives of unimaginable quality, and numbered in the trillions. So often we worry about asteroids or climate collapse or nuclear war. To have a sober, serious discussion of how we might avoid that, and what might folow, is a great joy, and I'll be thinking on and talking about this read for a very long time to come
I tried to follow the foot notes at first, and planned to read the appendices but they get densely scientific and mathematical, and I found I was more frustrated with my reading pace than I was getting from them. Accepting that and just reading the text as presented (as Ord encourages the casual reader to do) helped me stick with the flow and narrative of Ord's arguments far more easily.
The book runs through various forms of risk, why we should think about them now, how we might mitigate them, and an overview of where humanity might go in the future. Its endlessly fascinating, and Ord does a good job of distilling wildly dense scientific ideas and mathematical concepts into plain language- with greater depth available for those who are interested, you can always check his working.
The book filled me with hope, fundamentally. Not that we WILL survive, but that there's no real reason why we CAN'T. If we pull ourselves together, the upper limit on our existence doesn't really exist. Tens, or hundreds, of billions of years, with a humanity stretching across the stars, experiences, perceptions, forms, stories, art, games, lives of unimaginable quality, and numbered in the trillions. So often we worry about asteroids or climate collapse or nuclear war. To have a sober, serious discussion of how we might avoid that, and what might folow, is a great joy, and I'll be thinking on and talking about this read for a very long time to come
uzunfarukefendi's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.25
yates9's review against another edition
5.0
To look at weighting the interests of those that are living now with the interests of every human that will ever exist...
This is an important book because there are so few on this subject and even fewer mostly accessible to a lay audience. Toby does a good job at presenting the field and its key factors and questions. Less convincing in his final chapters because of oversimplification of some of the points and core examples.
The agricultural revolution as an example of a moment of huge transformation is also a controversial moment.. first moment of technical lock-in? Or liberation from the hard work of hunting and gathering? Both? Would have been nice for the author to consider some of the complexity of the issue.
This is an important book because there are so few on this subject and even fewer mostly accessible to a lay audience. Toby does a good job at presenting the field and its key factors and questions. Less convincing in his final chapters because of oversimplification of some of the points and core examples.
The agricultural revolution as an example of a moment of huge transformation is also a controversial moment.. first moment of technical lock-in? Or liberation from the hard work of hunting and gathering? Both? Would have been nice for the author to consider some of the complexity of the issue.