The Maniac by Benjamin Labatut

$32.99

2 in stock

SKU: 9781805330677 Categories: ,

Description

From the author of When We Cease to Understand the World: a dazzling, kaleidoscopic book about the destructive chaos lurking in the history of computing and AI

Johnny von Neumann was an enigma. As a young man, he stunned those around him with his monomaniacal pursuit of the unshakeable foundations of mathematics. But when his faith in this all-encompassing system crumbled, he began to put his prodigious intellect to use for those in power. As he designed unfathomable computer systems and aided the development of the atomic bomb, his work pushed increasingly into areas that were beyond human comprehension and control – and that threatened human destruction.

In The Maniac, Benjamin Labatut braids fact with fiction in a scintillating journey to the very fringes of rational thought, right to the point where it tips over into chaos. Stretching back to early twentieth-century conflict over contradictions in physics and up to advances in artificial intelligence that outpace the human, this is a mind-bending story of the mad dreams of reason.

'Emerging as the most significant South American writer since Borges… there is no one writing like him anywhere in the world' – Telegraph UK

368 pp. paperback

23.4 x 15.3 x 2.8cm

Published September 2023 by Faber Factory

Shipping
Shipping
Wherever practicable, Lonely Coat ships via Australia Post. Upon placing an order, you should receive a confirmation email within 30 minutes. Please contact [email protected] if you do not receive this email within that time. In-stock items will usually be despatched within 2 business daysPlease note: 'business' or 'working' days are Tuesday to Saturday, excluding public holidays. At present, we cannot ship to P.O. Boxes.
Returns
Returns
Please read through our return policy to verify if you are eligible for a return of purchase, before applying.Once the item has been received by a customer, they have seven days (7 days) to apply for a return, adhering to the conditions below:Please send a picture of the item and the invoice/receipt to [email protected] noting the reasons for wanting to return the item/s.When Lonely Coat accepts your return, you will receive detailed instructions regarding how to return the item.Faulty items, misbound items, or incorrect items that have been sent as a result of Lonely Coat’s error can be returned for exchange of same item or a full refund.Please DO NOT send your item back to us without approval/authorization - only returns that have been authorized by Lonely Coat can and will be accepted.All original shipping costs are refundable and all costs for return shipment will be covered by Lonely Coat once the return is authorised.We do not hold responsibility for products lost in transit.There is a seven (7) day policy of return for faulty items.We do not accept any return requests on sale items. All sales transactions are final, without exception.