Silicon: From the Invention of the Microprocessor to the New Science of Consciousness Paperback – February 8, 2021

An amazing read. I First began programming and assembling computers with a Sinclair ZX81 kit in 1981. At the time, I did not know the man behind the Z80 microprocessor I soldered onto the board, but now I do! I also had a lifelong interest in airplanes, and I even designed my own airfoil and cut all the ribs out of balsa... It was amazing all the parallels. That was the personal stuff... You might be surprised by how connected he was to so many things--even the development of the touch-screen.Even more amazing was to learn about the life of an engineer and inventor who changed the world, definitely someone "in the arena" in the computer revolution. An insider's history of the invention of the microprocessor. He went through so much, and endured so much, worked so hard--A true hero in my eyes. This book will live in your heart. I could not put the book down. I could totally relate to his struggles--which matched my own in the areas of consciousness and brain science. For 30 years now I have tried to get people to listen and understand about the paradoxes of symbolic information and the brain, and I even left graduate school at a prestigious university because I thought that they were wrong—like everyone, I even tried another grad school… So Federico’s struggles with people who said his ideas “couldn’t work” brought tears! But even though I left graduate school to write my own book, I never stopped. I did research on my own, wrote papers and traveled, and I just completed a second book—which I could not put all the diagrams I wanted into it, sorry Federico!!! If you read the book you will understand! Lol! I don’t have a lot of resources and sometimes not enough to eat… because I will never give up. I worked hard and continuously, but when I contacted people, even though they understood some things like the importance of meaning, they didn’t seem to understand the deeper issues. I even chatted with Nobel-prizewinners like Francis Crick back in the day. But he didn't see what Federico clearly sees! This man is a genius. I think he and I would get along well. I can tell him things about my own discoveries and my papers which he would definitely resonate with. I first started with human language ability and usage back in the day --just as he emphasizes. I try to be "in the arena, but even at the consciousness conventions at Tucson, there were so many voices people would only listen to parts… My longtime friend Jordan Peterson still uses my example of building literary meaning from my first book in his lectures and videos. Mr. Faggin has his finger on the pulse of the world. I cant help the tears thinking that he is growing older as all of us will, we need more people like him on this Earth.I say all this to you in my review because this is the type of mind you will be reading about—someone who even when he had all the money he needed, STILL worked HARD for all of humanity with the gifts he has been given, STILL has the deep creative ability and curiosity so fundamental to the advancement of the modern world. If you want to delve into a mind of our times, see into the well of innovation and the struggle of a great soul, you owe it to yourself to read this book!, I dream that one day he could teach me how to appreciate fine Italian wine… Maybe I already do. Maybe I already do. In the symbolic form of this timeless book.

This book is the best gift I gave to myself so far. It tried very best to reconcile religion and science. It helps us to understand who we are and the purpose of life. I am really grateful for the author sharing his life experience with his deep understanding. Love

Federico Faggin has been one of the greatest inspirational figures for my life and career. I had a similar journey, even if on more mature era of microelectronics and at a much smaller extent. So, i really loved this book, as an engineer and as a human, and I especially admired the range and depth it could reach. But, I did not particularly like the mystical part, not because I did not believe on the experiences, but because I think there is still a berry long way to be said before coming to the conclusion that it is has to do with a quantum realm and not being just a open eye dream. I am a big fond of both science of consciousness, and I agree that free will can only come from a quantum part of the physics world. I have to say that I disagree with many of the conclusions that the author comes to on the matter of consciousness, especially on the separation of the quantum and real worlds, but at the same time I think he brings up an immense amount of brilliant ideas and food for thought on that matter. Highly recommend.

Finally an honest and competent review from an insider scientist and not a journalist about who really worked and what it took to create the first microprocessor . A first opening at the horizon of AI .

Recently I've read about Intel history and the part of Mr. Federico was really missing or barely mentioned, it always felt to me like something really missing from their history until I started this book yesterday and couldn't put it down until I finished reading it, also I was tumbling in the books and writings about consciousness without being able to have clear and comprehensive understanding, here Mr. Federico made clear and perfect.. This book is a treasure to me and I believe will be to many who are interested in these subjects ❤️

From his earliest days building a model airplane to developing the first microprocessor and guts of modern computers, Federico has exhibited a passion to explore the unknown and the latest in technology. His fascinating journey is chronicled for over 50 years.Share his successes and failures as this technology hardware giant founds one company after another- a true serial entrepreneur. In the end Federico received this nation’s highest honor for scientific achievement from president Obama. What is he doing now? He is exploring the amazing phenomena of life.Bless America that we can still welcome talented immigrants who contribute so much to our world.

I bought Federico's book as soon as it came out because I knew his work at Intel, where he designed the 1st microprocessor, the 4004, then at Zilog, which he founded, where he invented the Z80, at Foveon and Synaptics, among other places. These were his three lives. The fourth unexpected one deals with Federico's exploration of consciousness, both personal and universal. A fascinating book, both entertaining and enlightening,

Muy interesante su biografía y sobre la Conciencia, pero lo escrito sobre Computación no me interesa.

The content is a 10, the book arrived water damaged, and definitely used. Still, I read it, enjoyed it and live on to see an other day, Too bad though, I treat all my books as friends, this one is a gargoyle. You may do better with an other supplier.

Faggin founded the Zilog company and invented fundamental tech while driving the development and production of the most successful 8-bit microprocessors of the 1970s, still made and in use today.The middle part and techie appendix of Federico Faggin’s new book Silicon is a fascinating read for Z80 fans.For those who don’t know, he and Masatoshi Shima were the chip engineers who founded Zilog and created the Z80 - they also actually implemented the 4004, 8008 and 8080 while working at Intel, then got written out of history (only briefly) by Intel suits who had no idea how to make a CPU or build anything but RAM but were incensed when Faggin left after years struggling against their reluctance to make chips that Intel thought would compete with their intended customers, the big (and doomed) mainframe corporations.The name Zilog is a pun on Intel, with the Z (akin to Omega) standing for the end (of the alphabet) and iLog referring to Integrated Logic.It’s not specifically a book for engineers or programmers, though. The first part is conventional biography of an Italian born to educated parents during the Nazi war. The last is a non-rigorous personal endorsement of Ada Lovelace’s declaration that computers cannot originate anything, which I find hard to argue with - though imaginatively denying it is, as I write, very lucrative.The techie part about chip development is the substance of this insightful book by a very bright man of international stature.I can’t wait for Shima to write his side.

Very pleasant biography by the european CPU pioneer. Gives a good impression on how much dedication it took to work on the 4004 and later design the legendary Z80 which surpassed Intel for a few years.If you liked Federico's book you might also enjoy:"Konrad Zuse - The Computer - My Life" (1993) who was a German developer of one of the very first computers before and during WW2 and "Hans Camenzind - Much Ado About Almost Nothing" (2007) by the Swiss inventor of the 555 timer.If you want to try using a Z80 there are many open source projects and motherboard options. One easy start is with a Z80-MBC2. You can get an inexpensive Z80-MBC2 as a PCB on ebay, then order all required components and solder them yourself or get a populated one. The official project page of the Z80-MBC2 can be found on hackaday io.

Ho preferito la versione inglese a quella italiana non solo per assoporare il libro nella lingua originale ma perchè la versione inglese contiene alcune integrazioni negli ultimi capitoli. Stile semplice e appassionante che trasmette l'intensità con la quale Federico Faggin ha vissuto non una ma ben quattro vite diverse. Da ex nerd dell'elettronica mi è piaciuta molto la parte in cui Faggin racconta lo sviluppo dei circuiti integrati e del primo microprocessore, anche se ai non addetti ai lavori questa parte potrebbe risultare un po' pesante.

As an enthusiast of "vintage" 80's computers, electronics, and the Z80 microprocessor, I read this avidly and loved all of it.It is broadly in 2 parts, firstly the history of the Z80 micro which Federico essentially designed and engineered, and secondly Federico's thoughts and ideas about AI and consciousness.I am grateful to Federico Faggin for writing this wonderful and inspiring book.