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Factoring Humanity


vodkafan

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Factoring Humanity by Robert J. Sawyer

 

This a sci fi novel set in Canada (the author is Canadian). The background is that a stream of alien messages have been received from outer space since 2007 but apart from the first couple, human beings cannot decipher them. The main characters are a woman university researcher who is working on the messages and her estranged husband, who is a quantam physicist trying to build AI (Artificial Intelligence).

The sub plot (which keeps you reading) is the human story of their marriage. I thought early on in the book that I had guessed the plot from the title, and clues in the first two chapters. Actually I was quite wrong and the story went in a different direction.

This was an entertaining story, had a bit of science theory in that did not strain the brain, well written, and I would read more of this author's work.

 

4.5/5

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Sounds promising, especially when reading the bit about it on Goodreads;

 

In the near future, a signal is detected coming from the Alpha Centauri system. Mysterious, unintelligible data streams in for ten years. Heather Davis, a professor in the University of Toronto psychology department, has devoted her career to deciphering the message. Her estranged husband, Kyle, is working on the development of artificial intelligence systems and new computer technology utilizing quantum effects to produce a near-infinite number of calculations simultaneously.

 

When Heather achieves a breakthrough, the message reveals a startling new technology that rips the barriers of space and time, holding the promise of a new stage of human evolution. In concert with Kyle's discoveries of the nature of consciousness, the key to limitless exploration—-or the end of the human race—-appears close at hand.

 

Sawyer has created a gripping thriller, a pulse-pounding tour of the farthest reaches of technology.

 

Put it on my TBR list.

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