Shane Ó Seasnáin
@creolegael.bsky.social
AI and digitization scál
25.23. How Information Grows covers a lot of turf, from the interesting and ultimately tragic story of Boltzmann and entropy, to Shannon’s reinterpretation of entropy for communication. I found the bit about Prigogine (a Belgian) and his idea that information is created when a system is out of…
December 31, 2025 at 11:37 PM
25.23. How Information Grows covers a lot of turf, from the interesting and ultimately tragic story of Boltzmann and entropy, to Shannon’s reinterpretation of entropy for communication. I found the bit about Prigogine (a Belgian) and his idea that information is created when a system is out of…
25.22A The Thinking Machine was not what I expected. It was another book about NVIDIA. It gets closer to Huang than the previous book I’d read. It finished with a tirade from Huang against the author. Not much new apparently.
December 31, 2025 at 11:33 PM
25.22A The Thinking Machine was not what I expected. It was another book about NVIDIA. It gets closer to Huang than the previous book I’d read. It finished with a tirade from Huang against the author. Not much new apparently.
25.21A 1929 feels the story of the cartels that dominated America before the crash, the subsequent correction, and the long and very slow drop of equity values over several years. It was this long slow decline until the early 30s, and not so much the crash itself, which caused…
December 31, 2025 at 11:31 PM
25.21A 1929 feels the story of the cartels that dominated America before the crash, the subsequent correction, and the long and very slow drop of equity values over several years. It was this long slow decline until the early 30s, and not so much the crash itself, which caused…
25.20A Breakneck is a really interesting book that draws parallels between the large number of lawyers that are involved in America’s government, compared to the preponderance of engineers in China’s politburo. The result is that the US has lousy infrastructure and China has too much, with…
December 31, 2025 at 11:28 PM
25.20A Breakneck is a really interesting book that draws parallels between the large number of lawyers that are involved in America’s government, compared to the preponderance of engineers in China’s politburo. The result is that the US has lousy infrastructure and China has too much, with…
25.19A Speaking My Mind is the autobiography of Leo Varadkar, former Taoiseach of Ireland. He comes across as a normal enough person but his political world seems so alien and superficial. The stories and media coverage of politics is equally mundane. If only we could access this while…
December 31, 2025 at 11:25 PM
25.19A Speaking My Mind is the autobiography of Leo Varadkar, former Taoiseach of Ireland. He comes across as a normal enough person but his political world seems so alien and superficial. The stories and media coverage of politics is equally mundane. If only we could access this while…
25.18A The NVIDIA Way brings us through the history of NVIDIA and Jensen Huang. Apparently, he is very energetic but also more than a little disturbed. I’m listening to a podcast that talks about genius as I write this and it mentions a quote that every successful startup is a cult. There might…
December 31, 2025 at 10:54 PM
25.18A The NVIDIA Way brings us through the history of NVIDIA and Jensen Huang. Apparently, he is very energetic but also more than a little disturbed. I’m listening to a podcast that talks about genius as I write this and it mentions a quote that every successful startup is a cult. There might…
25.17 White Nights. My favorite writer is Dostoyevsky. I thought I’d read most of his works but was surprised earlier this year by a panel talk at the Dalkey Book Festival on why Gen Z is fascinated by Dostoyevsky. As we waited a man just I front of me and I got talking.
September 20, 2025 at 10:40 AM
25.17 White Nights. My favorite writer is Dostoyevsky. I thought I’d read most of his works but was surprised earlier this year by a panel talk at the Dalkey Book Festival on why Gen Z is fascinated by Dostoyevsky. As we waited a man just I front of me and I got talking.
25.16 Gaeilge i mo Chroí. Is leabhar mhaith é. Tá sé dátheangach agus tá ma smaoineamh iontach.
September 14, 2025 at 3:38 PM
25.16 Gaeilge i mo Chroí. Is leabhar mhaith é. Tá sé dátheangach agus tá ma smaoineamh iontach.
25.15A Artificial Wisdom is a fictional story set around 2050. I heard the author being interviewed on a pod and thought he would take the world’s problems with climate change and look at how both humans and AI might respond. His central hook is a world election for a protector, one human, one AI
August 23, 2025 at 8:01 PM
25.15A Artificial Wisdom is a fictional story set around 2050. I heard the author being interviewed on a pod and thought he would take the world’s problems with climate change and look at how both humans and AI might respond. His central hook is a world election for a protector, one human, one AI
25.14A A Little Life is the fictional story of a boy/man who goes through many years of abuse. The physical toll is heavy and the book is full of sadness and misery. It ends as it starts. It somehow fits as an important part of gen Z worldview.
August 23, 2025 at 1:40 PM
25.14A A Little Life is the fictional story of a boy/man who goes through many years of abuse. The physical toll is heavy and the book is full of sadness and misery. It ends as it starts. It somehow fits as an important part of gen Z worldview.
25.13A Agentic AI is about the latest craze in AI, the evolution from generative AI models to agents, extended by memory, software and communication protocols. This book is written for executives and contains the usual stuff about strategy. However, there is some good work on RPA analogies and mem.
August 23, 2025 at 1:35 PM
25.13A Agentic AI is about the latest craze in AI, the evolution from generative AI models to agents, extended by memory, software and communication protocols. This book is written for executives and contains the usual stuff about strategy. However, there is some good work on RPA analogies and mem.
25.12 The AI Con. Also not a book I would recommend. It is really following the anti-AI hype and it seemed to contradict itself on many occasions, either claiming AI was rubbish and does not work or complaining that it was taking work away from others. Bizarrely, it had many of telltale signs of AI.
August 18, 2025 at 6:17 PM
25.12 The AI Con. Also not a book I would recommend. It is really following the anti-AI hype and it seemed to contradict itself on many occasions, either claiming AI was rubbish and does not work or complaining that it was taking work away from others. Bizarrely, it had many of telltale signs of AI.
25.11A. Empire of AI. This book felt like a personal vendetta against Sam Altman. There is more information in it than the previous book, Supremacy, but I felt it went too far and was one sided. It’s almost like there is an AI hype and equally there is an anti-AI hype. I did not enjoy this book.
August 18, 2025 at 6:13 PM
25.11A. Empire of AI. This book felt like a personal vendetta against Sam Altman. There is more information in it than the previous book, Supremacy, but I felt it went too far and was one sided. It’s almost like there is an AI hype and equally there is an anti-AI hype. I did not enjoy this book.
25.10A. The first of a trilogy of books calling foul on AI, Supremacy, AI and the Race that Will Change the World.
This was an audiobook and to be fair, it was a reasonably good description of the competition between Open AI and DeepMind. It gave very good insights into Sam Altman and Demi Hassabis
This was an audiobook and to be fair, it was a reasonably good description of the competition between Open AI and DeepMind. It gave very good insights into Sam Altman and Demi Hassabis
August 18, 2025 at 6:11 PM
25.10A. The first of a trilogy of books calling foul on AI, Supremacy, AI and the Race that Will Change the World.
This was an audiobook and to be fair, it was a reasonably good description of the competition between Open AI and DeepMind. It gave very good insights into Sam Altman and Demi Hassabis
This was an audiobook and to be fair, it was a reasonably good description of the competition between Open AI and DeepMind. It gave very good insights into Sam Altman and Demi Hassabis
25.9A. Ok, so as someone who is fairly dyslexic I have finally succumbed to audio books. I’ll be commuting more soon so why not try it. This book is called The Singularity is Nearer by Ray Kurzweil
June 13, 2025 at 6:34 AM
25.9A. Ok, so as someone who is fairly dyslexic I have finally succumbed to audio books. I’ll be commuting more soon so why not try it. This book is called The Singularity is Nearer by Ray Kurzweil
25.8 Klein’s “Doppelganger” starts with her exasperation at being confused with Naomi Wolf - who morphed from feminist icon to far-right conspiracy theorist. The social media abuse Klein received was vindictive and extreme. But this personal nightmare became a lens for something much larger.
June 11, 2025 at 8:41 PM
25.8 Klein’s “Doppelganger” starts with her exasperation at being confused with Naomi Wolf - who morphed from feminist icon to far-right conspiracy theorist. The social media abuse Klein received was vindictive and extreme. But this personal nightmare became a lens for something much larger.
25.7 Just finished "Pioneers of Capitalism - The Netherlands 1000-1800" by two Utrecht professors - a fascinating exploration of Dutch economic transformation…
May 10, 2025 at 10:45 PM
25.7 Just finished "Pioneers of Capitalism - The Netherlands 1000-1800" by two Utrecht professors - a fascinating exploration of Dutch economic transformation…
25.6 The Age Of Diagnosis - Sickness, Health And Why Medicine Has Gone Too Far
It’s a compelling critique of modern medicine’s diagnostic obsession. Thread coming with my thoughts on why I think the author gets a lot right, but misses something fundamental. 📚🧵 #BookReview #Medicine #HealthPolicy
It’s a compelling critique of modern medicine’s diagnostic obsession. Thread coming with my thoughts on why I think the author gets a lot right, but misses something fundamental. 📚🧵 #BookReview #Medicine #HealthPolicy
April 21, 2025 at 8:54 AM
25.6 The Age Of Diagnosis - Sickness, Health And Why Medicine Has Gone Too Far
It’s a compelling critique of modern medicine’s diagnostic obsession. Thread coming with my thoughts on why I think the author gets a lot right, but misses something fundamental. 📚🧵 #BookReview #Medicine #HealthPolicy
It’s a compelling critique of modern medicine’s diagnostic obsession. Thread coming with my thoughts on why I think the author gets a lot right, but misses something fundamental. 📚🧵 #BookReview #Medicine #HealthPolicy
3000 days (or 8.22 years) learning Irish, Dutch and Spanish!
April 7, 2025 at 6:15 PM
3000 days (or 8.22 years) learning Irish, Dutch and Spanish!
25.5 Imaginable - How To See The Future Coming And Be Ready For Anything.
I purchased the book out of curiosity about game design because my daughter would be studying this area. I found that she would learn a superpower: the ability to storyboard possible futures with vivid clarity.
I purchased the book out of curiosity about game design because my daughter would be studying this area. I found that she would learn a superpower: the ability to storyboard possible futures with vivid clarity.
April 6, 2025 at 10:58 AM
25.5 Imaginable - How To See The Future Coming And Be Ready For Anything.
I purchased the book out of curiosity about game design because my daughter would be studying this area. I found that she would learn a superpower: the ability to storyboard possible futures with vivid clarity.
I purchased the book out of curiosity about game design because my daughter would be studying this area. I found that she would learn a superpower: the ability to storyboard possible futures with vivid clarity.
25.4 Just finished reading Confederate Ireland 1642-1649 by Ó Siochrú. I knew little of the Confederacy before, beyond a sympathy for Owen Roe O’Neill from reading about his grand uncle and the Nine Years’ War. Turns out he was important, but not the main character. A few thoughts:
March 10, 2025 at 4:02 AM
25.4 Just finished reading Confederate Ireland 1642-1649 by Ó Siochrú. I knew little of the Confederacy before, beyond a sympathy for Owen Roe O’Neill from reading about his grand uncle and the Nine Years’ War. Turns out he was important, but not the main character. A few thoughts:
25.3 Guns, Germs, and Steel has a misleading title which put me off reading it for a while. Really it should have been called Plant and Large Mammal Domestication, and their Benefits for Population Density and Eventual Tribal/State Dominance. Still, I’m not a publisher, so what do I know.
February 13, 2025 at 4:20 PM
25.3 Guns, Germs, and Steel has a misleading title which put me off reading it for a while. Really it should have been called Plant and Large Mammal Domestication, and their Benefits for Population Density and Eventual Tribal/State Dominance. Still, I’m not a publisher, so what do I know.
25.2 The Catalpa Expedition was written in 1897 and tells the story of the clever rescue of 6 Irish prisoners from the penal colony at Fremantle, Western Australia in 1876. Organized by the Irish in America, it is the most remarkable, daring story. Ordinary people beating a very ugly empire.
January 25, 2025 at 6:02 PM
25.2 The Catalpa Expedition was written in 1897 and tells the story of the clever rescue of 6 Irish prisoners from the penal colony at Fremantle, Western Australia in 1876. Organized by the Irish in America, it is the most remarkable, daring story. Ordinary people beating a very ugly empire.
25.1 Waiting for Bojangles is Dr. Seuss meets the Great Gatsby. Rhymes and jazz sounds echo through its sentences. It reminds me of the fantasy of Angela’s ashes. It is escapism and fun. A French book recommended in Budapest. It is of a child who would be something else,
Then he'd lightly touch down
Then he'd lightly touch down
January 1, 2025 at 4:57 PM
25.1 Waiting for Bojangles is Dr. Seuss meets the Great Gatsby. Rhymes and jazz sounds echo through its sentences. It reminds me of the fantasy of Angela’s ashes. It is escapism and fun. A French book recommended in Budapest. It is of a child who would be something else,
Then he'd lightly touch down
Then he'd lightly touch down