James Somers: Careenium, Crowded Cells, Crossing, Feynman, McPhee
Our curator this week is James Somers (jsomers.net). James is a writer and programmer whose work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and MIT Technology Review. His essays on technical subjects—from AI to avalanche science—have earned a devoted following. His New Yorker piece "A Coder Considers the Waning Days of the Craft" sparked wide conversation about AI and the future of programming.
James's Picks
Who shoves whom inside the careenium?, or, What is the meaning of the word "I"?
By Douglas Hofstadter, 1984
Hofstadter is one of my favorite writers—I was so moved by his Pulitzer Prize–winning classic Godel, Escher, Bach that I ended up writing a long profile of him for the Atlantic—and for me this is peak Hofstadter. It's an explanatory essay in dialogue form. It does a better job than anything I've read at explaining how something like an "I" might emerge in a brain.
Cells are very fast and crowded places
By Ken Shirriff, 2011
This short blog post helped kick off a revolution in my understanding of biology, and a newfound interest in the subject.
"Crossing"
By Mark Slouka, 2009
This is a damn good short story. I was moved to tears the first time I read it.
"Bird Migration"
In Our Time podcast
My favorite episode so far is the one on Bird Migration.
"Inventing on Principle"
Talk by Bret Victor, 2012
This is probably the best talk I've ever seen.
The John McPhee Reader
By John McPhee, edited by William L. Haworth, 1976
As soon as I discovered John McPhee—through having this book recommended to me—I realized that he was who I wanted to be when I grew up.
The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick)
By Seth Godin, 2007
I credit this book with giving me the wherewithal to really teach myself computer programming, right when I'd reached an impasse.
The Online Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences
Founded 1964 by N. J. A. Sloane
"Fun to Imagine"
Richard Feynman, 1983
I fell in love with Feynman sometime in college.
Spotlight on James's Work
It's hard to pick just a few of James's pieces to spotlight. Instead of trying to do that, I strongly encourage you to visit his personal site - jsomers.net. It's a treasure trove.