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Books

Irreducible by Federico Faggin

Frank S. Robinson doubts a holistic vision of life, the universe, and everything.

Federico Faggin is one of the major pioneers of computing. Among other breakthroughs, in 1971 he invented the first commercial microprocessor, laying the groundwork for modern information technology. In Irreducible: Consciousness, Life, Computers, and Human Nature (2024) he propounds a startling theory of consciousness. Before we get to that though, the book extensively discusses classical physics versus quantum mechanics.

We know that something seemingly solid, like a hammer, is made of atoms that are mostly empty space.

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