My favorite books and reading trace for 2024:

BEST BOOKS OF 2024

Bennett, A Brief History of Intelligence: Evolution, AI, and the Five Breakthroughs That Made Our Brains. An exploration of the evolutionary milestones that shaped human intelligence.  The book goes from LUCA to bacteria and bilaterians, tetrapods to amniotes and therapsids, and then cynodonts to mammals and hominids. It had insights into how an understanding of earthly intelligence can inform the development of modern attempts at AGI and then SI. It covers breakthroughs in the evolution of intelligence, such as: steering, emoting, associating, and predicting; reinforcing, TD learning, and world models; simulations, generative models, and model-based RL; mentalizing and self/other modeling; language and large group coordination. I liked this book so much that I bought both a print and digital copy and re-read some chapters and sections multiple times. It itched at and etched on my brain and is a much-discussed book in the Bay Area AI circles.

Alexander, Ishikawa, Silverstein, et al., A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction. A seminal guide offering 253 design patterns to create balanced and livable spaces, emphasizing that thoughtful design can enhance human flourishing. This was a favorite text from my undergraduate years that I dug up to re-read while doing a painful ADU construction project this year.

Darwin, The Autobiography of Charles Darwin: 1809-1882. A memoir revealing the life and intellectual journey of the naturalist. It shows the importance of curiosity, luck, and perseverance in scientific discovery. It is a glimpse into the mind of the most eminent Victorian I know (other than William Rowan Hamilton and the Faraday/Maxwell pair).