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Summary: A Stairway to Your Own Mind
Review: "Augustine's works ... planted a seed in early childhood from which my interest in paradox and God grew. Maybe this book will contain seeds for you." -- Clifford Pickover Kurt Godel may have logically proved that God exists, but Clifford Pickover pursues the paradoxes that result from following a belief in a God that is omniscient and omnipotent. As an example of such a paradox consider the question - Can God make a rock so massive that He can't move it? Certainly many readers will find the chapter entitled "The Paradox of Led Zeppelin" to be their favorite. So, put on your "Stairway to Heaven" CD and shatter your mind with some superb reading.
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Summary: As with any book that delves into philosophy...
Review: ...you get out of it what you put into it. I myself am a fundamentalist, but that doesn't mean the book isn't worth reading. The book is MEANT to be a survey of various topics, which is why the author gives both copious notes and large "further reading" lists. He WANTS his books to be thought provoking enough to spur people on to do THEIR OWN research and make up THEIR OWN minds. If someone thinks it is shallow, then they have missed the point of the book. The author does not claim to be Thomas Aquinas or Kurt Godel or Albert Tucker - he just uses them to bring up and explore various topics. If people wish to disagree with the scant number of conclusions (almost everything in the book is in the form of a question, which doesn't preclude conclusions being drawn, but in general the point is to bring up the questions, not to answer them as well), then let them. That doesn't mean the book is not worth reading!
The writing itself is fluid and understandable, and while Mr. Pickover does not explore every topic as thoroughly as I would like, I don't think we should expect a 1000 page book out him either. As with many of Mr. Pickover's books, he does skip from one topic to the next in a somewhat disconcerting fashion - until you get used to it. So it might not be for every reader - but it IS a good primer on the subject, and a great place to start if you are interested in the results and paradoxes that exist if omniscience exists.
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Summary: Don't waste you money on this book, buy the real one
Review: After reading the reviews of this book I thought this might be someone with a different perspective who might challenge his readers to think outside themselves. Sadly the author himself did not do this, much less posses a grasp of the material that would cause you to stop and think, pondering a deep thought through a new point of view. Instead you are accosted by the shallow attempt of an intelligent man to address the spiritual through the half open eyes of humanity. It is not a book for the serious minded who are trying to work through the topics presented, but a laughable ramble through the same old ideas presented in a better format. That is the strength of this book, and even in that it falters. He tries to present each topic in a refreshing manner, but in almost every chapter he goes off on some unrelated tangent never to answer the question presented. The times he does try to answer the question, he does not come to the question with a desire to seek the truth, but with a preconceived ideas that would require him to come to the same conclusion that he was taught.
You would be better served doing the following. Study the scriptures. Then ask yourself what preconceived idea you brought to a topic. Acknowledge your bias and look at the topic again from your new starting point. Repeat this process until you have removed all of what you and society have wrapped around the topic. When all the preconceive ideas and piously held ideals are removed you will be faced with what is left, the truth. Skip this book. Read the real one.
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Summary: Calling God's bluff, this book exposes God's "hand"
Review: I found this to be a fascinating look at various paradoxes which result if an Intelligence is to be considered God-like (omnipotent, omniscient). Can an all-knowing Being actually be at a disadvantage? Were Adam & Eve punished unfairly if the whole original Sin was a pre-destined set-up? Was it good or bad for us that they sinned? Can the human mind create something original such as a song if God knew about its existence all along? What about "proofs" of God and Pascal's Wager? Pickover offers up original insights to these and many more God issues using the conversations of a likeable pair of characters to supplement the discussions and thought puzzles. The book also has a section of intriguing subjective questions for the reader to ponder, as well as references from scripture that cast doubt on the Biblical God's loving nature. Christians may do a double take and have some trouble wrestling with the notion that God might not be omniscient after all. A fun, interesting, original slant on an ever-popular subject. Nice illustrations and relevant quotes from the famous further flesh out this book on the Invisible God (or alien). Highly recommended for anyone interested in "God".
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Summary: A definite must-read about paradoxes and God!
Review: Paradox of God is an excellent book about the paradoxes brought about by true omniscience. Each section of the book first leads the reader on an imaginary adventure involving an omniscient being, such as the alien Dr. Eck, or God Himself. After using the story to introduce a paradox, he goes on to look at it from a logical point of view. I enjoyed his methods of using game theory to simply explain exactly how the paradoxes work. Pickover even shows that in some scenarios it can be a disadvantage to be omniscient. The book is an excellent overview of many famous paradoxes, that challenges the way we look at religion. I highly recommend this book, as it covers many subjects that anyone can become enthralled by. Pickover has a wonderful gift of being able to explain even the most complicated of these paradoxes in a way that is easy for anyone to understand.
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Summary: A definite must-read about paradoxes and God!
Review: Paradox of God is an excellent book about the paradoxes brought about by true omniscience. Each section of the book first leads the reader on an imaginary adventure involving an omniscient being, such as the alien Dr. Eck, or God Himself. After using the story to introduce a paradox, he goes on to look at it from a logical point of view. I enjoyed his methods of using game theory to simply explain exactly how the paradoxes work. Pickover even shows that in some scenarios it can be a disadvantage to be omniscient. The book is an excellent overview of many famous paradoxes, that challenges the way we look at religion. I highly recommend this book, as it covers many subjects that anyone can become enthralled by. Pickover has a wonderful gift of being able to explain even the most complicated of these paradoxes in a way that is easy for anyone to understand.
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Summary: Excellent, easy-to-read sampling of a difficult topic
Review: This book covered numerous Biblical curiosities, so, surprisingly, the more I learned about religious paradoxes, the more I learned about Bible mysteries. Pickover's breezy style made the difficult subjects easier to understand. My favorite chapters were: 1. The Paradox of Omniscience
6. The Devil's Offer
7. The Revelation Gambit
9. The Brain and God: Who's in Charge?
10. The Bodhisattva Paradox
13. Two Universes
14. The Paradox of Uzzah
15. The Paradox of Dr. Eck
16. The Paradox of Led Zeppelin I plan to show this to a friendly priest to get his opinion on the subject.
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Summary: A Fun Introductory Book
Review: This book is great if you are new to the subject or just want an easy and relaxing read on a very interesting topic. As another reviewer said, this isn't some revolutionary book. Of course he goes on to say that seminary students would enjoy picking it apart, etc. Who cares? How many books in seminary curricula could be broken down and picked apart? Most, if not all. What does it prove? Nothing. This book isn't out to prove anything, it's purpose is to open your mind up. Don't be disgruntled by this reader's opinion. Also, Pickover challenges Christian theology without being condescending. I really feel like he's just looking for truth, and not taking shots at Christians like many other authors do. This book is broken down into small parts made for very easy for chewing. Each chapter begins with a paradoxal story, and then the rest of each chapter is spent on exploring its potential implications. My favorite chapter was on free-will. Christians, atheists, and pretty much everyone thinks we truly have free-will. But did you know that our brain is deciding out thoughts and actions before we even become conscience of it? It's reall amazing! My only complaint is that Pickover often seems to have trouble staying focused. I'm not picky about this at all, but this book got on my nerves a bit. Sometimes you are in the middle of a chapter and you can't even remember what the chapter's subject is. Fortunately, this only happens in a few chapters. Overall that is why I gave this book 4 stars. If you're looking for more than introductory material, checkout another title.
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Summary: Truth vs Disgruntled Fundamentalists
Review: This book obviously hit hard on the Christian mentality of a previous reviewer. I think this book is enlightening. It opens up the obvious paradoxes that have always existed and lays bare a Truth that is self evident in it's simplicity. "Reducing the complex to the simple is the mark of a genius".
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Summary: Bring an open mind and some aspirin to explore God.
Review: Welcome to a discourse on God. Biology, physics, the Bible, Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" and more will be examined. Bring an open mind and some aspirin. Clifford A. Pickover's "The Paradox of God and The Science of Omniscience" will bend your mind like a wet noodle.
Pickover will convince you without a doubt about point A, but then be equally convincing with a contradicting point B. The book is bursting at the seam with paradoxes concerning God's nature. An interesting notion is that omniscience has disadvantages.
The writing will challenge your definition of God and the universe. The effect may be shattering as one's paradigm shifts. Pickover seems to enjoy being the provocateur; his tone is gleeful at times.
Pickover states, "The mere asking of these questions stretches our minds." He leads discussions via the Socratic method. Definitive answers are lacking as questions quickly multiply. One absolute is this: a gem of a read for anyone vaguely interested in God - Christian, agnostic, atheist, and so on.
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