Written by an AI program mimicking human creativity, this humorous autobiography of an adventurous young man describes his journey through the Hi Tech world across USA--a journey which starts at the University of California and takes him through the technology worlds of Silicon Valley, San Francisco and Seattle (after a detour through Nashville, the Music City) and ending at beautiful San Diego.
The book starts in the middle with Kalpanik, a technologist in the Software industry moving from Silicon Valley to Seattle via Nashville to work for the internet leader Amazon.com.
We read one lively story after another about their interesting experiences in the Northwest.
In the end, we travel back in time to the University of California, and learn how/where Artificial Imagination was born!
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Book Review by John Lehman,the author of Everything is changing
I was half way through this book when I realized it is almost poetry in the form of prose. I am not just referring to the short paragraphs, but the imaginative leaps, stunning imagery and most importantly, words which hook us in, make us think this is our story . . . . We see them on the page but live them in the theater of our imagination.
This book reminds us that we share the mysteries of the human mind and soul, no matter what our occupation, no matter where we were born. "Why I am here may appear to be a simple question, but . . . is there a deeper purpose of being where we are?" We know that the question applies not only to the location where we spend our lives, but also to overall existence, and our place in the time continuum.
Just as the author who traveled from New Delhi to Silicon Valley felt he has traveled forty years into the future, so do I, sitting in the agricultural landscape of Wisconsin felt that I have had a glimpse into the vitality of the Hi-Tech worlds of California and Seattle.
I feel I am in the hands of a good guide. Here is what it means to do research in Computers: "Rip apart an electronic system and you see nothing moving, nothing vibrating, it's almost a make-believe world, a child's fantasy, a writer's imagination.",
and what it means to yearn for acceptance:
"I looked at Seattle's glistening skyline on one side and its beautiful waterfront on the other and asked it the same questions I had asked San Francisco 16 years ago: will it accept me? Or will its people treat me as someone different, not one of the? And will I accept it, call it my home? Right then, she appeared from no where, as if the city had sent her to answer my questions . . ."
I loved the section addressing Seattle's slacker sun, that comes late to work, like at 9 AM and goes back home at 4, the observation that for males, until the age eight, we want every young woman to be our mother, then for the next thirty years our friend and when we have daughters, we feel like bringing every young woman a glass of warm milk and cookies.
His first day in Nashville, the author looks out of his window and sees snow. The conclusion he draws about the snow flakes very fittingly describhis life and the message we can take with us from this hip, funny, poignant, beautiful book: "the snowflakes descend slowly, floating in the air, allowing the current to carry them with it, letting it change their paths. They have chosen not to confront their destiny, choosing instead to enjoy every second of their short lives, their journey to the ground."
Welcome home, Kalpanik!
The book starts in the middle with Kalpanik, a technologist in the Software industry moving from Silicon Valley to Seattle via Nashville to work for the internet leader Amazon.com.
We read one lively story after another about their interesting experiences in the Northwest.
In the end, we travel back in time to the University of California, and learn how/where Artificial Imagination was born!
----------------------------------------------------
Book Review by John Lehman,the author of Everything is changing
I was half way through this book when I realized it is almost poetry in the form of prose. I am not just referring to the short paragraphs, but the imaginative leaps, stunning imagery and most importantly, words which hook us in, make us think this is our story . . . . We see them on the page but live them in the theater of our imagination.
This book reminds us that we share the mysteries of the human mind and soul, no matter what our occupation, no matter where we were born. "Why I am here may appear to be a simple question, but . . . is there a deeper purpose of being where we are?" We know that the question applies not only to the location where we spend our lives, but also to overall existence, and our place in the time continuum.
Just as the author who traveled from New Delhi to Silicon Valley felt he has traveled forty years into the future, so do I, sitting in the agricultural landscape of Wisconsin felt that I have had a glimpse into the vitality of the Hi-Tech worlds of California and Seattle.
I feel I am in the hands of a good guide. Here is what it means to do research in Computers: "Rip apart an electronic system and you see nothing moving, nothing vibrating, it's almost a make-believe world, a child's fantasy, a writer's imagination.",
and what it means to yearn for acceptance:
"I looked at Seattle's glistening skyline on one side and its beautiful waterfront on the other and asked it the same questions I had asked San Francisco 16 years ago: will it accept me? Or will its people treat me as someone different, not one of the? And will I accept it, call it my home? Right then, she appeared from no where, as if the city had sent her to answer my questions . . ."
I loved the section addressing Seattle's slacker sun, that comes late to work, like at 9 AM and goes back home at 4, the observation that for males, until the age eight, we want every young woman to be our mother, then for the next thirty years our friend and when we have daughters, we feel like bringing every young woman a glass of warm milk and cookies.
His first day in Nashville, the author looks out of his window and sees snow. The conclusion he draws about the snow flakes very fittingly describhis life and the message we can take with us from this hip, funny, poignant, beautiful book: "the snowflakes descend slowly, floating in the air, allowing the current to carry them with it, letting it change their paths. They have chosen not to confront their destiny, choosing instead to enjoy every second of their short lives, their journey to the ground."
Welcome home, Kalpanik!
