{"product_id":"surfing-the-cut-the-uncomputable-nature-of-things-9798901020722","title":"Surfing the Cut: The Uncomputable Nature of Things","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhat if the universe can't be fully captured by our equations, algorithms, or philosophies-because the most important part of reality is uncomputable?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn Surfing the Cut: The Uncomputable Nature of Things, physicist and technologist Todd Hylton traces a two-decade search that began with a practical mission: understanding intelligence well enough to build truly intelligent machines. As a DARPA program manager who launched SyNAPSE, he discovered a deeper problem behind the engineering challenge: the widespread assumption that the world is computable.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHylton argues that computationalism is not \"wrong,\" but incomplete. It can describe what already exists, yet it cannot explain how new things come to exist-how novelty, purpose, and lived meaning arise. To bridge that gap, he introduces thermodynamicalism, a philosophy centered on the Cut: a spontaneous, multiscale discontinuity that drives the evolution of all things and unifies the fractures we live with-reason and emotion, brain and mind, science and religion, fate and free will.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGuided by ideas from computing, thermodynamics, quantum mechanics, life, and artificial intelligence, Surfing the Cut offers a fresh lens on the biggest questions: what intelligence is, why creation matters, and how to navigate a world increasingly dominated by algorithmic thinking. This book doesn't ask you to abandon science or spirit-it asks you to see how they fit together at the edge where things become.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlong the way, Hylton equips readers with a set of propositions and practical intuition for \"surfing\" the Cut-shifting between what can be measured and what can only be experienced. The final chapters extend thermodynamicalism into everyday concerns, from politics and business to morality and climate change, and introduce thermodynamic computing as a pathway beyond today's limits.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIf you've ever felt that modern explanations leave out the very things that make life meaningful, Surfing the Cut offers a rigorous, imaginative framework to hold the whole picture-and a vocabulary for the mystery you already sense.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Todd Hylton\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Manuscripts LLC\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/17\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 252\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.65lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.50h x 5.50w x 0.53d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798901020722","brand":"Manuscripts LLC","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45521288102025,"sku":"9798901020722","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0636\/9240\/6921\/files\/img_5244b573-4409-40ba-bd83-0b2dc8a0cc0f.jpg?v=1776227051","url":"https:\/\/sonsanddaughtersbooks.com\/products\/surfing-the-cut-the-uncomputable-nature-of-things-9798901020722","provider":"Sons and Daughters Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}