[extropy-chat] Accelerando Technical Companion on Wikibooks

[Giu1i0 Pri5c0]

The Wikibooks <http://en.wikibooks.org/> repository, a collection of 
open-content textbooks that anyone can edit, has a "Accelerando Technical 
Companion <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Accelerando_Technical_Companion>". This 
is a technical companion to Charlie
Stross<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Stross>'s
latest novel, Accelerando<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accelerando_%28novel%29>.
Stross's book can be quite dense in unusual technical terms and concepts, 
which can sometimes be quite confusing to readers unfamiliar with them. The 
purpose of this companion is to help alleviate any confusions the reader may 
have, as well as to introduce new confusions by giving the reader an idea of 
the current state and expected future of the technologies described in the 
novel. Wherever possible, brief information on relevant research papers is 
provided. Accelerando is not a "post-Singularity" novel but rather a 
"through-Singularity" novel as it takes the reader from our days (the first 
chapter "Lobsters" can be situated around 2010) through a Singularity to a 
sketched post-Singularity world. In the novel Stross focuses more on the 
social impact of technologies pushing to a Singularity and only hints at the 
technologies themselves. The aim of this technical companion is filling the 
gaps and providing Accelerando readers with a technical background.
I am reading the free downloadable book (and waiting for the hardcover 
edition which I have purchased), so I am trying to contribute to the 
Technical Companion. I believe many readers prefer starting with a fine 
novel, rather than with a technical book or report, to read on the 
technologies that will change our lives.
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