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Machine Beauty: Elegance and the Heart of Technology
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Author: David Hillel Gelernter
List Price: $14.00
Our Price: Click to see the latest and low price
ISBN: 046504316X
Publisher: Basic Books (January, 1999)
Edition: Paperback
Sales Rank: 89,643
Average Customer Rating: 3.31 out of 5
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Customer ReviewsRating: 4 out of 5
The Mirror Worlds Companion
What is beauty? Gelernter, in a work that is more an
essay than full-blown book, does a wonderful job of
drawing the reader into exploring that question. He
asks, "...could a mathematical proof, scientific theory,
or piece of software be 'beautiful' in the real, literal
way that a painting or symphony or rose can be beautiful?"
The answer, according to Gelernter, is a resounding "Yes".Machine beauty, a simple elegance that resonates in its
observer, is the subject of the work. But, how might one
sense this? Gelernter offers this: "You might experience
something resembling machine beauty, even if you are no
scientist or engineer, when you drive a nail into a
board with one clean, graceful hammer stroke." Precisely! "Deep beauty, 'resonant beauty' in which many types of
loveliness reinforce one another, is a principal topic
of this book" according to the author. He then explores
the following two claims: (1) "...machine beauty is
the driving force behind technology and science", and
(2) "... machine beauty bothers us. We act as a society
as if our goal were not to nurture or celebrate it but
to stamp it out." Gelernter, a computer scientist and sometimes artist,
applies his many observations to the sad state of today's
computer software. "The hell with mathematics; let's
teach of our programmers about beauty" he exclaims! There are long running comparisons between the WinTel
PC and Apple Macintosh in the work. It isn't a "sales
pitch" for one or the other; just a set of observations
on how the emphasis (or deemphasis) of beauty and
elegance drove both efforts. The work is easy to read yet fully researched. A "Notes"
section appears at the end of the 144 pages of prose to
provide all of the references to the other works Gelernter
drew upon. I thought the effort made to keep the meat of
the book uncluttered was well worthwhile. This book is an excellent companion to Gelernter other
work "Mirror Worlds". Read Mirror Worlds first and then
eat this for dessert--you won't be disappointed.
Rating: 3 out of 5
The machine may be beautiful, but . . .
The author seems to have started out with a premise I have held to since I read "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" when I was in college. My first computer teacher, Ted Nelson, turned me on to the intrinsic beauty in things computerish with his enormously quirky "Computer Revolution/Dream Machines". My wife is a designer and I am in computers. We have had many long conversations about the false division drawn between art and science. So I thought I might have found a new soulmate when I picked up this little (176 pages) book. Too bad it wasn't so. Oh, Gelernter seems to be going the same way initially, even if I found the prose, and especially the examples, a little rough. But he just couldn't hold me. I found him spending too much time defending from his soapbox rather than illuminating. He seemed to be trying to write the textbook for a college course he wants to teach instead of reaching out to the reader. I don't think I could wholeheartedly recommend this book to my personal friends, so I can't recommend it to you either. Maybe next time.
Rating: 3 out of 5
A little too selfish
I was a bit disappointed by this little book. It starts interesting (the first couple of chapters) but then it looks more like Gelernter wants to showcase his personal ideas about how a computer could be beautyfull (both aestethic and scientifically), that to explain how beauty can be found in science. Maybe that's what should be expected, but I think the topic is much more interesting than just his personal views on it. Anyway, it makes a fun (if short) read.
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