New Thinking: From Einstein to Artificial Intelligence, the Science and Technology at Transformed Our World

by Dagogo Altraide

THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF TECHNOLOGY New Thinking, brought to you by the mind behind the scientific YouTube channel ColdFusion, Dagogo Altraide, is the story of human innovation—the story of us. From the stories behind the steam engine revolution, the electric world of Tesla, the first computers, and the invention of the internet and artificial intelligence, New Thinking explores the hidden history of technology, unveiling the secrets that have shaped our world. New Thinking brings you the stories of the men and women who dared to think differently, and who paved the way for future innovations. In New Thinking: From Einstein to Artificial Intelligence, the Science and Technology That Transformed Our World, Altraide attempts to answer: How thinkers and innovators spawned creations beyond our wildest dreams How our modern world came to be and how war, politics and religion influenced the development of technology What the future might look like

Genres: Science, Technology, Nonfiction, History, Artificial Intelligence, Business, Psychology

280 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[For_the_love_of_words · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not sure what this Gary guy is on about. I read the book. This book is not a political or sociological book, nor does it even attempt to be. This book does not side with Nazis or fascists. It is a book on technology, designed for tech-buffs or the curious, and written in a language easy enough for even the non-technical to follow.

As one of those non-techs I loved the book for its narrative style, for its humour and its tragedy, for its anecdotes bringing the stories of innovations and brilliant thinkers to life... some of these thinkers famous and remembered, some of them forgotten, lost to history. It is a book marrying tech/science and tale in a way unique for this genre. By the end I felt inspired and overwhelmed by all the thinkers and their stories I'd come to know. God forbid that we celebrate some of the excellence, learnings and wonder in our journey of technological development. God forbid we call to mind what it affected and induced, what it cost at times. Even if you may have heard or read every single story in here before (as some claim, which I highly doubt) there's still much to learn and remind ourselves of.

The only danger I see here are minds bent on hate and anger, stuck in identity politics and the trap of victimhood culture (I looked up the 'Third Wave' book Gary lauds as his salvation. He contradicts himself, rating it two stars and lambasting the author as a privileged extreme centrist, embarking on a tirade that reveals his deeper political angst with the world at large). If you're up for a read that gives you a new appreciation of our world, then I'd recommend 'New Thinking'. If you're into feelings of oppression and anger against groups of people, then 'The Communist Manifesto' or 'Mein Kampf' might be more your thing.

[Beauregard Bottomley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Why did I dislike this book so much? I know part of it had to do with there was not one thing in this book that I had not read elsewhere. Part of it has to do with the context less way the stories were told. Part of had to do with the substance free science and history that was presented. I would definitely not recommend this book to anyone who cares about how we got where we are today or what it means.

Right after I finished this book I started listening to Alvin Toffler’s ‘Third Wave’ written in 1980. What a contrast from this shallow substance free book and Toffler’s. Toffler within the first hour told four of the same stories that were mentioned in this book: steam power, ATT, Time Efficiency, and Henry Ford. What a contrast, Toffler has a reason for his story telling, this book (‘Cold Fusion’) only saw the past through the eyes of today and provided facts without context thus giving empty content. Anybody can do that, but emptiness never gives enlightenment.

There is fundamental change going on right now as we speak. Society is reshaping itself. There is a story that needs to be told. I can even read a book that tells me nothing that I didn’t already know as this book did and get something out of it, but that means the author needs to connect the dots in a way that is different and meaningful. This author does not do that.

And why did the author think ‘both sides are to blame’. Tolerance and understanding are not required when somebody says ‘both sides are to blame’ when a Nazi rams their car into peaceful demonstrators, or when somebody says ‘Climate change is a Chinese Hoax’, or ‘I trust the leader of North Korea when he tells me he didn’t have that American killed’, or ‘Putin assures me he didn’t interfere in our election and I trust him more than my own intelligence agencies’ or just as sadly, when a congressman in the Michael Cohen testimony parades a black woman as a token representative and says ‘Donald Trump can’t possibly be a racist since this token black woman would not work for a racist and that proves he is not a racist’ are there really two sides and a compromise position to such nonsense on stilts? I don’t need to know what is in their heart or head. I can judge them by their actions and their deeds. Tolerance is not a suicide pact and I don’t need to compromise when it comes to insanity, or racism and fascism. This author definitely from time to time was faulting the intolerance of those who aren’t willing to compromise with the insane, or racist or fascist, but not realizing that sometimes the other side is just bat shit crazy and there is no need to compromise with the aberrant.

I think shallow books like this are a danger for our times and that there is a real story that needs to be told and this book only serves to take us away from the real meaning behind our times and how we got where we are. The reason for which we are today does come from the past, but in order to understand what it means require more than superficial stories without context, meaning or substance. Books are a gateway to deep understanding and should always transcend a blog post and this book never gets past the all too familiar and read as it was a series of blog posts.

[Pramod · Rating 5 out of 5]

The new thinking by Dagogo altraide. If you want to understand today's innovation and technology then this book is for you.
it's an introductory book for absolute beginners..the book orderly explained complex ideas in simple a way.. that's the beauty of this book..

[Utkarsh · Rating 1 out of 5]

"There is a reason Elon Musk named his car company after Tesla."

This is a sentence in one of the first pages of this book, where the author is praising Nikola Tesla. It was a huge turn-off for me and I stopped reading it immediately. Why? Because it's factually incorrect! Tesla Motors was named so by its actual founders Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning. Musk joined the company some time later, as an investor I believe and at that time the company was already in operation under the name of Tesla.

This is a deal-breaker for me. Reading a book about how the technology evolved to shaped our world I don't expect to encounter any incorrect facts. The author loses credibility and makes it difficult for me to continue reading the book.

[Jasmine Annina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite being someone who doesn't have a very in depth understanding of science and technology, I found this book a very easy read. It is evident that the author has written the book with a wide audience in mind. The book is written in a way that is similar to the way technology and science is discussed on the ColdFusion Youtube channel; the information is presented in a way that is easy for the reader to understand and includes interesting anecdotes on the people and social contexts which helped shape the history of technology.

[DV · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good One. An easy to understand tech history.

The author has narrated the tech revolutions very well. Main stories, big idea and so on. It's also entertaining just like his channel.

[Muhtasim Khan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, gives a brief overview of technological advancement from 19th century and onward.
Absolutely loved the short stories and well researched quality contents included in this book.

[Sergio Abreu · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't found in this book what I thought I would when I started reading it, but in any case, that was my fault. The first quarter of the book I was feeling kind of frustated, because I kept reading and I couldn't find a main thread to the narrative. At some point I stopped looking for it, it was then I realized I was not approaching the book from a good point. This is not one of ColdFusion videos, neither it should be.

There's no focus on any particular subject, nor any specific narrative to the book. This is more like a compendium of discoveries, facts and stories about technology throughout history. The story is that of humanity progress, and connecting each of the points is left to the reader. That's what makes this book good, which I couldn't see until I dropped the expectations I had from watching Dagogo's YouTube channel.

New Thinking offers a set of historical events, arranged in a way that allows the reader to be fascinated not only by the events themselves, but by the flow they create towards the future. Future which is briefly addressed by the book, that's why I can't give it 5 stars. I think it stops too soon, the last chapter and the prologue should have had easily 100 pages more.

If you are interested in technology (no need to have a technical background), just go and read it, you won't be dissapointed.

[John Stevenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad - some interesting tech history that I didn't know. Well researched, poorly edited, but well worth the read for the information contained therein.

[Naveen · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a kid, I had always been fascinated by the technology around us & wondered how did we even end up in a world with such a tremendous technological advancement.
This book holds answers to all those questions; the story of how the new thinkers made up this world, by passing the torch to the next generation and then to the next and on and on.
As its rightly said that the next generation always surpass the current, the technology at present is growing at a rapid pace than ever seen before. If this trend continues, will we be able to build better tools & find answers to all the unsolved mysteries of the universe or will the technology go out of control & mark the end of human kind?
Guess we will have to wait & see how it turns out.

[Tetiana Garanenko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Прогрес технологій — це масивний камінь на горі пагорба із крутим схилом, кожна інновація злегка штовхає камінь уперед, наступна — уже сильніше. Автор аналізує людські інновації, винаходи по періодах, щоб побачити, які ідеї попередників стають фундаментом для ідей наступників, що дає змогу створювати нові технології. Розглянуто, як наш теперішній світ будували ті, хто стояв на плечах попередніх новаторів.

Будь-яку досить розвинену технологію неможливо відрізнити від магії. Багато винаходів — це вдосконалювання ідей, а не вигадування щось нового. Кажуть, що потреба — це матір  винаходу, і найважчі часи дали нам один з найкреативніших винаходів — програмований комп’ютер. Дійсно це так? На початку 1820-х років завзятий математик і філософ, на ім'я Чарльз Беббідж страждав від людських помилок. Науковця дратувало те, що він неодноразово знаходив помилки в логарифмічних таблицях, які використовували в астрономії. Часом деякі з них мали реальні наслідки. Якщо фізичні машини можуть виконувати фізичну роботу, то чому фізичні машини не можуть виконувати розумову роботу, подумав Чарльз Беббідж та почав змінювати світ.

На початку війни армії пересувалися на конях, а в кінці мали вже танки на землі та літаки в повітрі. Коли на кону країна, треба впроваджувати інновації, щоб перемогти за будь-яку ціну. Перша світова війна стала першою промисловою та науковою ��ійною. Чому та як? 

Винаходи, які тепер становлять невіддільну частину нашого життя, походять з 1920-х років. Історія людства побудована на новому мисленні. Ми використовуємо попереднє покоління інструментів як основу для створення сучасних, а ті сприяють появі потужніших — цикл зворотного зв’язку, що постійно пришвидшується. Деякі з цих інновацій змінюють світ назавжди: вогонь, пара, транзистор. Деякі змінюють його зовсім трохи. 

Перехід з 20 у 21 століття (вперше результати досліджень були опубліковані Journal of Personality and Social Psychology у грудні 1999 р.) відзначився запропонованим ефектом Даннінґа Крюгера: якщо люди мають обмежені знання з певної теми, вони здебільшого надзвичайно впевнені в тому, що говорять, і сильно переоцінюють свою компетенцію. Коли люди здобувають більше знань з певної теми, то говорять про це сором’язливо. Люди, які знають найменше, коментують найбільше, бо вони занадто самовпевнені. Соціальні мережі створили середовище з надмірно впевненими невігласами, які кричать одне на одного. Змінюється культура, знаменитостями (лідерами думок) є не науковці й філософи, а зірки спорту й кіно, телебачення, соціальних мереж. 

Коротко розглянуто історії технологій — від промислової революції до штучного інтелекту, щоб побачити, які ідеї попередників стають фундаментом для ідей наступників, що дає змогу створювати нові технології. Познайомитесь з мислителями-новаторами, які створили наш світ, простежите шлях технології від їхніх простих витоків понад триста років тому до теперішнього піднесення й розквіту. Цю книжку написано 2018 року, але необхідно, як мінімум, щомісяця читати про інновації в заголовках новин. 

[Chad Manske · Rating 4 out of 5]

“New Thinking: From Einstein to Artificial Intelligence, the Science and Technology that Transformed Our World," is an awe-inspiring journey through the monumental scientific and technological advancements that have shaped our modern society. With his trademark enthusiasm and a knack for making complex concepts accessible, Altraide takes readers on a captivating exploration of the ideas and innovations that have revolutionized our world. Altraide's ability to seamlessly connect diverse scientific disciplines, from quantum mechanics to artificial intelligence, and demonstrate their interconnectedness is a strong suit of this book. By tracing the evolution of ideas and breakthroughs, Altraide showcases how each discovery builds upon the previous ones, leading to transformative advancements. This approach not only enables readers to grasp the big picture but also highlights the collective effort of countless scientists and thinkers who have contributed to our current scientific landscape. Altraide's engaging writing style ensures that readers of all backgrounds can comprehend and appreciate the intricate concepts discussed. He strikes a perfect balance between explaining complex theories in a simplified manner and providing enough depth to satisfy curious minds. Furthermore, Altraide incorporates captivating anecdotes and personal stories, bringing the scientists and their work to life and making the book a joy to read. This is an eye-opening and thought-provoking book that emphasizes the power of human curiosity and the impact of scientific exploration. Altraide's passion for the subject matter shines through, making this book an inspiring read for anyone interested in the transformative nature of science and technology. Whether you are a science enthusiast or simply curious about the world around you, "New Thinking" is a must-read that will leave you in awe of the incredible advancements that have shaped our lives.

[Daniel Gomez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok history of inventions. It neither draws interesting conclusions or goes deep into any topic.

[Clare Kirwan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This history of inventions since the Industrial Revolution is a mixed bag - it starts out with fairly basic histories of breakthroughs by Stevenson, Tesla and Turing but as it moves closer to now, and the author's real interest in modern technology, computers and the like it becomes more detailed and technical until, arriving at VR, CRISPR and quantum computing I understood 'virtually' nothing at all. It is witty, accompanied by broad-brush contexts and Interesting though, to chart what order things happened in and why. The Audible version is very nicely read.

[Sanjay Sanil · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book summarises the evolution of technology, right from the 18 th century to the 21st ,in an informative and interesting manner. I was enthralled by this book as much as by Bill Bryson's brief history of everything, one of my favourites of all times.

[Satyen Rai · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book feels like a summarization of various other books on the topic. It doesn’t really bring anything new, neither content not presentation. It feels a lot like reading a Wikipedia article on the history of technology post the industrial revolution.

While the style works for the Cold Fusion videos that the author creates, a book is typically expected to e more in depth.

[Jakob · Rating 2 out of 5]

Spite figuring on the cover design, the part about Einstein is not only a meer half page of text, but also factually wrong, see the bottom for specific comments.

Maxwell also didn't discover electromagnetism, H.C. Ørsted did. Maxwell formulated the mathematical theory of electromagnetism that brought together the, until then, separate phenomena of electricity, magnetism and light. Dagogo writes that "other notable events [of the 2010's] include (...) the James Webb telescope", which however is only currently scheduled to launch in 2021. At the other end of the cultural spectrum, Dagogo writes that "In 1991, movies like Titanic, The Lion King, Forrest Gump, Men in Black, Jurassic Park, Home Alone, The Matrix, and Toy Story were released (...)". I assume he wanted to write "in the 1990s".

On that note, I've never read a book with so many typos and riddling statements such as "produce a plane capable of carrying two men 125 miles (200 km) at 40 miles (64 km) per hour for a flight time of one hour.". His ever-changing preference between miles and km was annoying and his occasional personal comments and pop-culture references I found irritating or, at best, uninformative.

The book as a whole reads as a fragmented and shallow experience. Introducing a subject only to drop it on the next page. Carrying little insight, little new information and that which was new to me I had to look up, because the amount of misconceptions present voided the book of legitimacy.

Having enjoyed Dagogo's otherwise very nice youtube videos I was excited to pick this book up. Oddly enough, I still found my self reading to the end. It's easy to read and interesting nonetheless. So all it all, it was ok.

Einstein:
- Special Relativity (1905) did not postulate that "the laws of physics are the same everywhere for a stationary observer" but that the laws of physics are the same in all inertial reference frames (i.e. whether you are moving or stationary).
- It was not Special Relativity that theorized "light bending due to gravity and black holes", but rather the theory of General Relativity, published a whole decade later.
- Dagogo further writes that "an object traveling just under the speed of light will be infinitely heavy". This is also incorrect. Physicists routinely accelerate elementary particles to speeds 99.999999% the speed of light in particle accelerators. We say that the mass of objects 'approaches' infinity as the speed approaches that of light. This is why it is impossible for a particle with mass to travel at the speed of light. What's interesting is that this only appears to a stationary observer — if you were to fly along, you would see no difference in mass.
- There are two parts to what's called Time Dilation: velocity and gravity. It does not depend on position per se, as Dagogo states. Special Relativity says that time slows down with increasing speed/velocity. While General Relativity says that time slows down with increasing gravitational potential, which means that time moves slower closer to Earth than it does for e.g. a GPS satellite in orbit. Both special and general relativity are needed for GPS to work, but the larger correction is actually due to the difference in gravitational potential.

[Joel Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This brilliant book deserves 4.5 stars

New Thinking is a fascinating book that explores mostly the history, but also the future of science and technology. The author, who is also the creator of the popular YouTube channel ColdFusion (which is how I found out about the book) takes the reader on a journey through some of the most groundbreaking discoveries and inventions that have shaped our world, from the industrial revolution onwards. From the moment it started, I was hooked.

He also reveals the stories and personalities behind these innovations, as well as the challenges and opportunities they present for humanity. He does this in a way that makes you feel like you was there and there's a few times I have felt personally about events that happened.

The book is divided into four parts: The Past, The Present, The Future, and The Mind. Each part covers a different aspect of science and technology, such as physics, biotechnology, nanotechnology, robotics, and neuroscience. The author explains complex concepts in a clear and accessible way, using examples, anecdotes, and illustrations. He also provides insights and perspectives on how these developments affect our society, culture, economy, and environment.

The book is not only informative but also entertaining and inspiring, some of the stories playing out like a novel. The author's passion and curiosity for science and technology are evident throughout the book. He encourages the reader to think critically and creatively about the world we live in and the possibilities we have for the future.

I couldn't give it a perfect star rating because there was one chapter about the science of quantum computing that was honestly, pretty boring. A far cry from the rest of the book which I loved every minute of.

New Thinking is a must-read for anyone who, like me, would google "the first" of technologies or is still amazed at how we hold the world in our hands these days. It is a book that will make you think differently about inventions and their creators and your own potential to create the future that all humans will one day be living.

[Mangelethe Sneha Menon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am guilty of holding an Audible account without truly utilizing it, I some lose interest sometimes with the mind wandering elsewhere. And then Audible started threatening ;) that I'll lose my credits, so I went shopping
and that's when I found this book, piqued by the author's name.

New Thinking explores the human adventure with technology, beginning with the invention of the first steam engine by Thomas Newcomen in the 17th Century.
In 3 parts and 15 Chapters, he unravels how humans have made leaps that at times were followed only after failures and heartbreak.
Who knew that Telegram & Morse Code was born out of a husband's despair after the death of his beloved wife?
And how under the shadow of perpetual doom science flourished.

Cold Fusion is one of my favourite Youtube channels; I love the way Dagogo Altraide illustrates various topics concerning the tech world. So it came as a surprise that he wasn't the narrator when I started listening to this book but 30 mins into it Ron Butler grew on me. New Thinking has so much to offer for anybody who wants to know how we got to where we are right now and also a little peek into the future.

[Marcus Gitau · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an introduction into the field of innovation this book is ideal for those who want to understand what the field is all about, it highlights notable inventors and innovations and provides a historical narrative that provides a linear progression making it feel intuitive. It is unfortunately this linear narrative that restrains me from giving this very well written book a higher review.

Technological progression in my opinion is iterative and the idea that great individuals are responsible for the successful diffusion of inventions is misleading. Diffusion of an invention is contingent upon numerous social, economic, political interactions that the writer has either decided is beyond the scope of this book or is unaware of. The book echos Schumpeter Mark 1 thinking, while although interesting, it is outdated.

That being said it is an excellent book and I am huge fan of the authors podcasts and YouTube Chanel and commend them on what I believe is their first book.

[Mark Madhukar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book describes eloquently the progression of technology from the invention of the Steam Engine to the more recent advancements in Artificial Intelligence, in a manner that appeals to all audiences regardless of their level of understanding of the subject matter.

I really love the Author's youtube channel Cold Fusion TV, which is a channel that show cases New advancements in technology, as well as deep dives into technological & financial history, with well scripted videos.

If you are interested in buying this book, then I would highly recommend that you watch his videos as it is an apt reflection of his writing style.

[Corwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always loved the ColdFusion videos that took deep dives into economic incentives, new technology, and personal motives behind many complex yet important events. Altraide has contributed a lot to my understanding of these events and widened my view into the corporate and political spheres. His videos are always super well researched, narrated, and produced. I loved reading this book that went over the history of human innovation and technological breakthroughs. Hopefully one day I will be a footnote in history as someone who moved the boulder of human progress forward just a little bit. A history and science of technology that is well-researched and fun to read!

[Aman Srivastava · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly how this world has changed over the last 100 years is such a remarkable event in the history. From the Watt's engine to Industrial Revolution to Bell Lab's transistors to Gates operating system to Apple's I Phone to now building upon the AI and Quantum Computing this world has witnessed changes in such a quick time that it's hard to understand what a bunch of curios brains have done for the humanity. It's noteworthy that how in a world that is divided over religion, idealogies, nations etc it's science and the technology that brings us human on a common page. This book is worth reading.

[Varun Kaushik · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gives a good chronological growth of technology and makes it pretty interesting to read. Good for an overview and generating interest. Though it skims through them, which is understandable since the book has to cover a lot. So would need you to find detailed followups and research if you want to deep dive into things. It's a good book to explain concepts to laymen, but experts or people knowledgeable on the subjects will find it a bit over simplified and not accurate enough on the details.

[Alain Lefebvre · Rating 2 out of 5]

Au début, ça commence bien : l’auteur raconte avec talent les débuts de la révolution industrielle du XIXème siècle avec son cortège de progrès techniques. Et puis, ça se gâte car l’auteur nous impose un poncif désolant : l’accélération constante supposée du progrès technique. Cette soi-disante accélération n’est pas expliquée mais simplement imposé comme une évidence incontestable.
Bref, une déception !

[Robert E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

As several reviewers have noted, there is not much "new" material but the book is an organized and thoughtful review of many technological developments. Several of the author's observations contained interesting insights. I think the book is consistent with the evolutionary perspective on technological progress but I would have liked a more explicit treatment of the sort of evolutionary development advanced by Matt Ridley and others.

[Robert Mueller · Rating 4 out of 5]

First I’ll say I’m a huge fan of the authors YouTube channel, so I am bias. But I thought this book was very informative and gave a great overall picture of technological breakthroughs and the stories of how they came to be. This is not a technical book and is very digestible to a general audience. Would certainly recommend this to anyone who wishes to learn the stories of how some of the most important technologies were formed.

[Charles · Rating 2 out of 5]

Written almost like a kids book on technology - though I don't think that's what the author intended. Very basic, no overarching narrative, and filled with pop-history - the commonly understood stories/interpretations with little to no fact checking. Basic facts about historical figures and events are elided often in favor of a breezy narrative. Not a great book on technology at all, though good for a 3-5th grader looking for a basic orientation to technology.

[calvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book takes you through a journey of evolution of technology starting with steam engines up to modern day AI and quantum computers also at the same time sharing some fun connections and stories behind these discoveries.

While it doesn't necessarily go very deep into any story or discoveries it gives you enough information to make you curious to look into the given stories more on your own i think this is the where the value of this book lies.

[Michael Brewington II · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written and organized. account of the history of technology and the immanent future.

Dagogo keeps with his high standards from YouTube to the written word. Truly a great book on the account of technology and the emerging future and the effects we can anticipate on humanity. Cannot wait to read version two on 5 years.