{"title":"Benjamín Labatut","description":"\u003cp\u003eBenjamín Labatut is a Chilean author celebrated for his intricate narratives that seamlessly meld science, history, and the human psyche. His work delves into the complex relationship between the progress of scientific thought and the often tumultuous path of human understanding. With a flair for exploring esoteric concepts and grounding them in profound, fictional contexts, Labatut invites his readers to question the very fabric of reality and our understanding of the universe.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eThe MANIAC\u003c\/em\u003e, Labatut continues to astound with his signature blend of fact and fiction, weaving tales that challenge our perceptions and provoke deep reflection. This distinctive style is mirrored in his other notable work, \u003cem\u003eWhen We Cease to Understand the World\u003c\/em\u003e, where scientific breakthroughs and the lives of great thinkers are brought into vivid focus, blurring the lines between genius and madness.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eLabatut's books fall under the General Fiction category, appealing to those who are intrigued by philosophical questions and the mysteries of our world. Readers of his books are treated to a literary experience that is not only educational but also profoundly thought-provoking, making him a standout voice in contemporary fiction.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-maniac-by-benjamin-labatut-9781782279822","title":"The MANIAC","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom the author of \u003ci\u003eWhen We Cease to Understand the World\u003c\/i\u003e: a thrilling, kaleidoscopic book about the destructive chaos lurking in the history of computing and AI\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'Monstrously good... Reads like a dark foundation myth about modern technology but told with the pace of a thriller' Mark Haddon\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn a scintillating mix of fact and fiction, \u003ci\u003eThe MANIAC\u003c\/i\u003e tells of the dark foundations of our modern world and the nascent era of AI.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAt its core is John von Neumann, a titan of science who revolutionised fields from game theory to computer systems and helped develop the atomic bomb. As illness unmoored his mind, his work pushed further into areas beyond human comprehension and control.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWith dazzling mastery, Benjamín Labatut weaves von Neumann's story together with the crises in physics at the beginning of the twentieth century and humanity's showdown with artificial intelligence a hundred years later. Innovative and disquieting, this book plunges us into the most profound questions of humanity, where reason teeters on the brink of chaos.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46522453819628,"sku":"9781782279822","price":26.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781782279822.jpg?v=1749074538"},{"product_id":"the-maniac-by-benjamin-labatut-9781782279815","title":"The MANIAC","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the author of \u003ci\u003eWhen We Cease to Understand the World\u003c\/i\u003e: a dazzling, kaleidoscopic book about the destructive chaos lurking in the history of computing and AI.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eJohn 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eThe MANIAC\u003c\/i\u003e, Benjamín 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46522458079468,"sku":"9781782279815","price":45.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/15498773482822.jpg?v=1749036047"},{"product_id":"when-we-cease-to-understand-the-world-by-benjamin-labatut-9781782276142","title":"When We Cease to Understand the World","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e'A monstrous and brilliant book' - Philip Pullman\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eWhen We Cease to Understand the World\u003c\/i\u003e shows us great minds striking out into dangerous, uncharted terrain.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFritz Haber, Alexander Grothendieck, Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schrodinger: these are among the luminaries into whose troubled minds we are thrust as they grapple with the most profound questions of existence. They have strokes of unparalleled genius, they alienate friends and lovers, they descend into isolated states of madness. Some of their discoveries revolutionise our world for the better; others pave the way to chaos and unimaginable suffering. The lines are never clear.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWith breakneck pace and wondrous detail, Benjamín Labatut uses the imaginative resources of fiction to break open the stories of scientists and mathematicians who expanded our notions of the possible.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e'Ingenious, intricate and deeply disturbing... Labatut has written a dystopian nonfiction novel set not in the future but in the present' - John Banville\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e'Absolutely brilliant. I was utterly gripped and wolfed it down. It feels as if he had invented an entirely new genre' - Mark Haddon\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46523030733036,"sku":"9781782276142","price":27.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/15462043482822.jpg?v=1749047888"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/benjamin-labatut.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}