The Ascent of Information
A review of

The Ascent of Information

Books, Bits, Genes, Machines, and Life’s Unending Algorithm

Caleb Scharf • Riverhead • 2021

Information as Energy

by David Meyer

Caleb Scharf, director of the Columbia Astrobiology Center, offers a self-renewing, self-contradictory discussion of information as an evolutionary source of universal energy.

Caleb Scharf, director of the Columbia Astrobiology Center, describes the entirety of human knowledge as the “dataome,” a living, evolving entity of almost infinite power that may shape life and the universe in ways people seldom consider. With breathtaking scope, Scharf explores human history and cognition to define the dataome.

The Dataome

The dataome is a human creation that shapes humanity.

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