Mind at Light Speed: A New Kind of Intelligence (Hardcover)

~ David D. Nolte (Author) "Our lives are filled with images..." (more)
Key Phrases: optoelectronic machines, optical intelligence, holographic neural networks, Glass Bead Game, Moore's Law, Architecture of Light (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Technology is neat, but the Industrial Revolution didn't really take off until machines starting doing things humans couldn't possibly do. Purdue physicist David Nolte says the same thing will launch the real Information Revolution--when computers start performing functions we can't even understand, much less program. Mind at Light Speed is his outline of the future of computing, including all-optical components "reading" pictures as instruction sets millions of times faster than linear, language-based programs.

This in itself will be a huge advance, giving rise to machines as incomprehensible as our next-door neighbors, and Nolte describes the technology and possible consequences with simple enthusiasm. He also discusses quantum computing at length, proposing an equally mind-boggling leapfrog over optical computing--if it can be made practical. Nolte's insights carry the reader farther into the domain of science fiction than most cyberprophets, but Mind at Light Speed makes a strong case for his world of the future. --Rob Lightner

From Publishers Weekly

urdue University physics professor Nolte charts the future of computing in an excellent book designed to appeal to the specialist as well as the general reader. Someday, Nolte writes, "luminous machines of light made from threads of glass and brilliantly colored crystals that glow and shimmer, pulsating to the beat of intelligence" will be commonplace. In other words, clunky electronics that rely on electrons to regulate the flow of information will be replaced by fiber optics that use laser beams to regulate other information-encoded laser beams. But with this generation of machines already at hand, Nolte envisions a further departure: a computer's "consciousness" will be driven by quantum physics. Light computers will use the qubit, the quantum version of the binary bit, to process all answers to a question simultaneously, and could use holographic symbols rather than binary systems as units of information. Nolte supports his case with a broad foundation of argument that includes chapters drawing together the history of quantum physics, the mechanics of human sight and intelligence, linguistics and semiotics. He also gives compelling insights into the nature of human thought and the technology that, he says, could far exceed it. Nolte's optimism poses a striking contrast to Roger Penrose's contentious and superb The Emperor's New Mind and subsequent Shadows of the Mind, which argued that computers cannot rise to the level of human thought. Nolte sounds at times like a seer caught up in rapture at the shape of things to come, but his research is cutting edge and his predictions forceful.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Free Press; 1st edition (November 27, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743205014
• ISBN-13: 978-0743205016
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,758,312 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Light as a Paradigm Shift in Artificial Intelligence, January 14, 2002

By	lisa dickinson (Charlotte NC) - See all my reviews

I am a layman- no physical science degree or job, but I have an interest in new technology applications, particularly light. Nolte's book is great for both the layman as well as the expert- the difference being how fast you will be able to read and absorb the building blocks of knowledge he stacks up (e.g; the physics of how humans see). His focus is a new paradigm of computer intelligence based on photons, not electrons- with implications of quantum leaps in computing power/intelligence and speed. If you have an interest in the power of "light" versus electricity (the 20ieth century paradigm), you will enjoy this thought provoking book. 'Mind at the Speed of Light' compliments recent best sellers like 'Telecosm'(opto-electronics), 'The City of Light' (history of fiber optics). It avoids hype but gets the reader intrigued about the future which is within reach. My only criticism is that the book and its lay readers would benefit greatly from more pictures or diagrams.

7 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From the review in Nature magazine, April 4, 2002

By A Customer

"Nolte makes a convincing case that light can act as both Mercury and Apollo - messenger and diviner - through the development of new nonlinear optical materials... He provides a fairly complete picture for the student and interested amateur of why the technology works the way it does, describes the roadblocks to improving system performance, and discusses the effects on telecommunications and data processing..."

28 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Totally Overhyped, Zero Information on the Core Topic, January 12, 2002

By	Bryan Hayes - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

David Nolte may be an optics expert, but he certainly is neither a computer expert, an algorithm expert, a software development expoert nor a vision expert or AI expert. The quality of the latter topics is about 0.1%, 0%, 0%, 5%, 0.1% respectively of introductory texts for these fields.

This book gives zero information on the key topic of how his optical computers (or any other) are going to handle the topics AIs, Intelligence and Vision. (Of course this is due to the fact that nobody knows how to do it today, but at least they do not claim so).