Readings on Lorenzo Bolla

Thinking—Fast, Slow, and Artificial

Sun, 27 Sep 2026 08:42:26 +0200

Thinking—Fast, Slow, and Artificial

by Steven Shaw, Gideon Nave • 2026 • ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

How AI Is Reshaping Human Reasoning and the Rise of Cognitive Surrender

The article that expands on Thinking, Fast and Slow, by adding another “system of thought”: System 3. System 3 is defined as “artificial cognition that operates outside the brain”.

The authors introduce the concept of cognitive surrender: adopting AI outputs with minimal scrutiny, overriding intuition (System 1) and deliberation (System 2).

The Creative Act

Sat, 05 Sep 2026 09:15:52 +0200

The Creative Act

by Rick Rubin • 2023 • ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Why

I heard Rick Rubin on a podcast and it immediatly clicked.

What I liked

It’s a short book, but very very dense. Each chapter, there are 78, is at most 3 pages long. The book is poetic, deep, insightful. It makes you want to be an artist.

What I disliked

Nothing so far. I’ll have to re-read it.

Thinking, Fast and Slow

Sat, 05 Sep 2026 09:15:42 +0200

Thinking, Fast and Slow

by Daniel Kahneman • 2011 • ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Why

I heard a podcast with Daniel Kahneman and I enjoyed it very much. I’ve been meaning to read “Thinking, Fast and Slow” for a while, but I got to it just now.

What I liked

The book is very dense: there is just an outstanding amount of information. A full life of research, distilled for the layman. The writing style is clear and accessible, but never banal.

La Montagna Magica

Sun, 16 Aug 2026 15:51:12 +0200

La Montagna Magica

by Thomas Mann • 1924 • ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Why

Nella traduzione di Renata Colorni. Ho letto altro di Mann, ma mai “La Montagna Magica”. E’ spesso citato come uno dei libri piu’ importanti del ‘900, quindi mi sembrava doveroso leggerlo.

What I liked

E’ un libro che legge come un classico. Ha uno stile, una scorrevolezza e un ritmo fuori dal tempo. Si sposa perfettamente con il contenuto della storia, ambientata in un sanatorio svizzero, dove il tempo scorre lentamente.

Non Esiste Saggezza

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 18:57:43 +0200

Non Esiste Saggezza

by Gianrico Carofiglio • 2020 • ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Why

Ho letto vari libri di Carofiglio di recente: Le tre del mattino (durante noiose attese in un ospedale), La versione di Fenoglio, forse anche dell’altro.

Non avevo mai letto una serie di racconti dell’autore. Sono meravigliosi. Non esiste saggezza raccoglie vari racconti con lo stesso sottile filo conduttore. Eccone alcuni che mi hanno particolarmente colpito.

Sicuramente un libro da leggere e rileggere.

The Testaments

Sun, 14 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Testaments

by Margaret Atwood • 2019 • ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Why

Sequel of The Handmaid’s Tale.

I was disappointed by it: I was expecting more of “The Handmaid’s Tale”, but the magic is gone in this one. It feels like the author didn’t really have new ideas: the story didn’t fit the world of the first book.

Why you can't make a computer that feels pain

Fri, 29 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Why you can't make a computer that feels pain

by Dan Dennet • 1978

Link

After The Abstraction Fallacy, I got a resurgence of interest in AI-related topics.

The Abstraction Fallacy

Fri, 08 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Abstraction Fallacy

by Alexander Lerchner • 2026

Link

The full title of the article is: The Abstraction Fallacy: Why AI can simulate but not instantiate consciousness. The article claims that computational functionalism is committing a categorical mistake when asserting that consciousness can arise from the symbolic manipulation of abstract concepts. This is called The Abstraction Fallacy. Functionalism ignores the physical origin of information and its causal chain. Instead of the natural order, from raw sensations to conscience to abstract concepts, functionalism assumes that conscience can be instantiated from abstract concepts, “backwards”. The article claims that this inversion is not possible, and conscience cannot be instantiated from symbolic manipulation of abstract concepts, because it ignores the fundamental role of the mapmaker. The mapmaker is who extracts abstract concepts from raw sensory data: it’s the giver of meaning to the abstract symbols.

The Handmaid's Tale

Sat, 02 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Handmaid's Tale

by Margaret Atwood • 1996 • ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Why

I watched the TV series, so I knew the story. But when I grabbed the book in the bookstore and started reading, I was immediately captivated by the writing style: Quotes below show some examples. I will definitely read more from Margaret Atwood.

What I liked

Writing style is stunning: dry and shocking like a punch, at times; slow and moving, the next page. It keeps you reading and shocks you. Ah, the story is also very entertaining.

Here Comes Everybody

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Here Comes Everybody

by Antony Burgess • 2019 • ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Why

As a companion for Ulysses.

What I liked

The book gives a unitary view of A Portrait, Ulysses and Finnegans Wake. It’s beautifully written and quite short (which is a great quality). If one doesn’t feel like reading Joyce, this book is excellent on its own right to get a sense of the complexity and depth of Joyce’s works.

What I disliked

Nothing really. The only observation is that this is an “introductory” companion, meaning that one probably needs other secondary sources to help with Ulysses.

Ulisse

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Ulisse

by James Joyce • 2026 • ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Why

As a companion for Ulysses, in #italiano.

Ulysses Unbound

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Ulysses Unbound

by Terence Killeen • 2018 • ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Why

As a companion for Ulysses.

What I liked

The book is very schematic. Each chapter has the same structure: a summary of the corresponding chapter in Ulysses, an explanation of the literary style, which body part governs the narration. It’s an excellent book to read along the main work.

What I disliked

The book doesn’t provide novel insights: all it says can be found on Wikipedia or other online websites. Nonetheless, I appreciate having all the information in one place.

Understanding Media

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Understanding Media

by Marshall McLuhan • 1994 • ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Why

I wanted to understand better what “The medium is the message ” sentence means. I also wanted to know if McLuhan’s framework can be applied to understand how the communication landscape will change with the advent of #AI technologies.

What I liked

The first few chapters are great. The whole framework is laid out and can be absorbed in few reading sessions. The second half of the book are “applications” of the framework itself, e.g. how radio or television shaped the communication landscape.

Ulysses

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Ulysses

by James Joyce • 1922 • ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Why

Marshall McLuhan’s Understanding Media tickled my interest for James Joyce: Finnegans Wake was the author’s favorite book. I read FW’s first lines and I thought immediately I needed some help. Antony Burgess introduction convinced me that I would probably enjoy Ulysses better: I had read The Dubliners before and I’m not really that interested in A Portrait. More over Ulysses has this aura of being a difficult book and I didn’t quite know what the story was about…

Crystal Mentality

Sun, 29 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Crystal Mentality

by Max Harms • 2017 • ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

Why

Second volume of The Crystal trilogy. First book is Crystal Society.

What I liked

What I disliked

Crystal Society

Sat, 28 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Crystal Society

by Max Harms • 2016 • ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Why

I heard about Max Harms on the 80000 hours podcast, talking about AI alignment.

What I liked

From the outside, most humans interact with the AI (protagonist of the book) as if it was a single coherent entity: but it isn’t. The AI is a “society” (hence the title of the book) of interacting “personalities”. The analog is obviously with AI agents, each focused on their narrow goal, called The Purpose. The AI’s personality then arises from the interaction of often opposing goals, in a mostly democratic way. There is no single dominant “agent”, but they cooperate to advance their purpose.