Nonzero

Listener Reviews

1. 5.0(1)

   Worth reading twice, twenty years apart

   Robert Wright does as good a job as anyone yet at arguing for the sanctity, or perhaps simply the existence, of a direction to human experience, without an ounce of offense given to the sensitive secular mind. Everybody should read this book. You should too.

   Sonya Cooley · March 27, 2022

2. 5.0(1)

   A brilliant synthesis...

   A brilliant synthesis of the creative impulse of the cosmos from the aggregation of elementary particles, to the coalescence of societies, to the global brain, and beyond.

   Lara Mcintosh · December 1, 2021

3. 4.0(1)

   good book, but way too long

   it is a good book, but it is really way longer than it needs to be. he quotes lots and lots of stuff from his other book, the moral animal. one should try to write different books, not the same book, or at least 30% of the same book into a different book. after he makes his points, he spends several chapters refuting nonsensical creationist arguments of Steven j gould. there is no reason to read any of those drivel arguments let alone write about them and then, have chapters and chapters on the refutation of unscientific faith-based dribble arguments. any faith-based argument ends up slipping on Ray comforts banana peels and breaking their necks. he also raises some very interesting points at the end, but does not really explore them to the detail that he should. those points are that non-zero-sum gaming evolved as a strategy ultimately as part of a zero-sum game. in other words multicellular organisms did not arise so they could do better, they arrived a rose so that they could compete in a world that has many single-celled organisms. it is because of that, that one wonders if there really is a true outcome of non-zero-sumnus in the end. he needs to explore that more, rather than just tease it. otherwise, it is a pretty darn good book

   Cheryl Henry · July 1, 2021

4. 3.0(1)

   The author bit more than he could chew.

   The whole zero/non-zero dynamics seem like an unnecessary filter through pass topics that the author talks about too casually. I recommend reading/listening the last 2 chapters if you're not sure about this one. The first half of the book contains an entertaining history lesson of the complexity of human logic but the second part of the book you cringe from time to time when the author pats himself on the back when subtly mocks religion or forces an analogy to stress a point.

   Michele Robertson · March 9, 2021

5. 5.0(1)

   Wow

   From history to philosophy passing through biology and economics. This book is an eye opener cheaper after chapter. Definitely the best I've found in a long time.

   Toni Hedding · February 12, 2021

6. 4.0(1)

   A Nice Follow-Up...

   to The Moral Animal, though it smiles just a tad too much. One HOPES that Wright's optimistic "destiny" of human evolution is true, though there is plenty of real life mess to prove otherwise. Wright does make some wonderfully insightful observations about what drives the complexity and symbolic nature of human society, it is just the underlying eutopic hints that cause one to cringe a bit. Overall, a fine book with lots of insight and things to ponder...just don't take it's subtitle too much to heart--humans simply don't yet deserve it.

   Hallie Griffith · December 19, 2020

7. 4.0(1)

   Idea is beautiful and worth ruminating.

   Idea is beautiful and worth ruminating. A lot of interesting links. Sometimes a little bit fuzzy, but still ok.

   Betsy Atkinson · October 30, 2020

8. 5.0(1)

   Hard not to learn something by reading this book

   The author's survey on early civilizations is worth the cost of the book alone. Societies tend toward more complex organization as they spread their cultural memes. The arc of history tends towards working together by utilizing win-win situations. Constructive coordination defeats the second law of thermodynamics (entropy) for the coordinators. Yes, that's a mouthful, but the author is expert at clearly explaining it all. The two items needed for economic development, cheap transportation and effective communication, are facilitated by higher population density leading to more growth and technological developments hence an evolving of civilizations. The book was originally copyrighted over 10 years ago (today is 2012). The book only lost my interest when he was topical and futuristic during about 2 hours of the second half. I was ready to give up and I'm glad I didn't. The book then got really interesting by tying together his major theme on the organization of organic processes. He got into the second law of thermodynamics, and how information and the processing of that information at its core is physical. His real theme is that cultures evolve by constructive coordination (win-win situations) but he supports that by educating the listener through historical narratives, fine points on economic theory and the importance of information processing for growth. I enjoyed this book so much I've downloaded his next book, "The Evolution of God".

   Jeannette Chambers · July 21, 2020