Prey by Michael Crichton

Rating – 9 / 10

Prey, another one of the science fiction thrillers from Michael Crichton, is based upon the growth of nanotechnology and artificial intelligence in the present world. At present, the two most studied fields in Artificial Intelligence are Evolutionary Computation (based on Darwin’s theory of survival of the fittest) and Swarm Intelligence (which says that individual organisms defined by simple rules behave differently when in a swarm).

In the story, a group of computer programmers put the above stated theories with nanotechnology to create a swarm of nanoparticles. The swarm is designed to work according to the PRED-PREY algorithm i.e. the particles are designed as predators trying to catch their prey (i.e. their goal). Now, during an experiment one of these swarms gets free. The swarm’s code contains bits of Genetic Algorithms (GA) i.e. the swarm keeps learning and at a very fast rate. It is actually solving problems in flashes of seconds. Every experience that the swarm has is teaching it new things. This swarm starts to multiply and it starts attacking living organisms around it to accelerate its growth.

The most interesting fact, that even the author keeps stressing upon throughout the novel, is the speed with which the swarm learns. The learning is based upon GA. Having had a tryst with GA myself, I was able to completely understand and feel the power of Evolutionary Computation. Also, the concept of Swarm Intelligence is thrilling. The way a simple rule like – “Keep close but not too close” can keep a group of birds in perfect formation while they are flying.

On the whole, a great book with very few negatives. It is one of those books which can easily give birth to great ideas to anyone who wishes to feel the power of AI.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton

Image
Rating – 7 / 10 One of the first of Michael Crichton’s books, Eaters of the Dead circles around the lives of Vikings, their customs and their wars. This book is basically a more exciting version of the manuscript of Ahmad Ibn Fadlan. Faldlan was an Arab who, on one of his expeditions for his king, met with a group of Northmen i.e. Vikings. The Vikings decided to let go off Fadlan’s fellow travelers, but Faldlan is taken along as the thirteenth member (to bring good luck) on a hero’s quest to fight the ‘mist monsters’ in a North country. This book gives a detailed description of how Buliwyf, the leader of this team, plans and fights off the mist monsters and eventually kills the leader of the mist monsters, to save his people from these monsters. In this attempt, Buliwyf also gets killed but Fadlan survives and eventually leaves for returning back to his country. This book is nowhere close to the thrilling science fiction books that Crichton writes, and is famous for, today. It was cert...
Read more

Perry Mason Mystery : The Case of the Cautious Coquette by Erle Stanley Gardner

Image
Rating - 5 / 10 Another in the series of murder mysteries that I’ve been reading for a long time now, Cautious Coquette is a completely regular Perry Mason Mystery. Once again, Perry Mason gets personally involved in a case of a woman who wants her monthly alimony payments, from her second husband, to continue even after she gets married for the third time. But she gets into big trouble when her first husband is found murdered in her garage. This triggers a series of events where Perry tries desperately to save his client, but all the evidence is stacked against her favour. A very lucky misunderstanding, intentionally created by the murderer himself, leads Perry to the culprit. In all, a very regular book, and if you are a regular Gardner follower then I would seriously suggest that you can skip this one, because it has not got anything new.
Read more

The Lost World by Michael Crichton

Image
Rating – 9 / 10 Lost World is the second book in the D-series by Michael Crichton. Two years have passed since the “InGen incident”, and the incident still remains a secret to most of the scientific fraternity. But there certainly have been few leaks and rumors floating around. After being declared as dead at the end of the first book, Dr. Ian Malcolm has miraculously survived. And this time, he has even more complex theories to explain. He teams up with Dr. Throne, Dr. Richard Levine and Dr. Harding, to enter the world of dinosaurs again, but now their intentions are purely to observe the behavior of the dinosaurs rather than to catch them. The story is filled with conclusions and inferences of the Darwin’s theory of evolution, the chaos theory (Malcolm’s favorite) and the theories of how species behave under different circumstances. Everything that happens on Isla Sorna, seems to be drawing from one of these theories. This book has more of science and less of the regular thrill, whic...
Read more