What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Tetris Effect’

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Updated 01 October 2024
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Tetris Effect’

  • Ackerman walks us through what the mathematicians say, discussing among other things the limitations of the Z shape in the classic Tetris game

Author: Dan Ackerman

In the 2016 book, “The Tetris Effect: The Game that Hypnotized the World,” author Dan Ackerman, a radio DJ turned tech journalist, assembles pieces of a fragmented narrative into a neat, fast-paced story.

Each chapter is almost like a tetromino (a single Tetris piece). The story is layered, technical, nerdy and a tiny bit quirky.

Perhaps the most recognizable video game yet made, Tetris has a definitive story all its own. Ackerman, who is an editor at leading technology news website CNET, brought that animation to life.

In the chapter “Bonus Level, Tetris into Infinity,” Ackerman asks: “Is it possible to ‘win’ a game of Tetris? The idea of what constitutes a winning state is an ongoing source of debate among game theorists.”

Ackerman walks us through what the mathematicians say, discussing among other things the limitations of the Z shape in the classic Tetris game.

He asks: “An attentive player with lightning-fast reflexes could easily keep the game going for a very long time, but based on the rules established above, is it possible to continue forever?”

It’s a good question.

If you have been alive during the past four decades, you will have most likely played it yourself or know someone who has. The book deemed it to be “a game so great, even the Cold War couldn’t stop it.”

But how did that come to be? Why?

The book considers a question many have been wondering: How did a quiet, obscure Soviet software engineer create the game on, even at the time, antiquated computers in 1984? And how is it still so popular 40 years later?

Tetris earnings have exceeded $1 billion in sales, the book states, and peppered within its pages, readers will notice additional facts scattered around to make it even more interesting. One such fact states: “Guinness World Records, recognizes Tetris as being the ‘most-ported’ game in history. It appears on more than 65 different platforms.”

Another reads: “The Nintendo World store in New York has on display a Game Boy handheld that was badly burned in a 1990s Gulf War bombing. It is still powered on and playing Tetris.”

That Russian programmer, Alexey Leonidovich Pajitnov, did not change the world, but he did change how we interact with it, by creating that game. Pajitnov was 28 when he developed Tetris in Moscow. Now 68, he is still a significant figure in the gaming world. While he did not initially receive any royalties due to strict Soviet laws at the time, he later got what was owed to him when he formed The Tetris Company in 1996 to manage the licensing rights for the game.

 


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Naturekind’

Updated 14 April 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Naturekind’

Authors: Melissa Leach & James Fairhead

Are language and culture uniquely human, justifying an exceptionalism that sets people apart from the rest of nature?

New discoveries in the biological sciences have challenged this assumption, finding syntax, symbolism and social learning beyond the human, and identifying culture as a second inheritance system across the phyla from whales to insects and plants.

Biologists are constrained, however, by the mechanistic ways communication is understood.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Contemporary Kingdom’

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Updated 14 April 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Contemporary Kingdom’

  • Physically substantial, the book feels symbolic — like a literal building block in the ongoing construction of Saudi Arabia’s artistic future

The new edition of “Contemporary Kingdom” is a lush green coffee table volume that is more than worthy of the space it occupies.

Building on the original 2014 release, the new edition offers a sweeping insight into one of the world’s most dynamic art scenes. With expanded coverage, it dives deep into the Kingdom’s bold and vibrant creative landscape through essays and detailed profiles of contemporary Saudi artists.

This expanded volume charts the evolution of Saudi Arabia’s art scene. It highlights visionary artists, pivotal moments and cultural shifts that have pushed the Kingdom onto the global art stage.

From historical context to groundbreaking contemporary movements, the book captures a transformative journey in motion.

Physically substantial, the book feels symbolic — like a literal building block in the ongoing construction of Saudi Arabia’s artistic future.

Featuring a foreword by Saudi Minister of Culture Prince Bader bin Abdullah, Part 1 is titled “The Ecosystem” and includes essays by notable Saudi voices such as Ashraf Fagih and Dalal Majed, alongside international contributors.

Part 2 presents profiles of 55 Saudi artists, complete with suggestions for further reading.

Launched by Canvas Magazine in collaboration with the Visual Arts Commission under the Ministry of Culture, the book made its debut during the inaugural Art Week Riyadh, which ended on April 13.

“Contemporary Kingdom, Second Edition” is available for purchase at the Riyadh Art Building in JAX, Diriyah, adjacent to the Saudi Arabia Museum of Contemporary Art, through the end of May.

 


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Living Matter’ by Alex J. Levine

Updated 13 April 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Living Matter’ by Alex J. Levine

The frontiers of physics can seem impossibly remote — located in the invisible quantum realm or the farthest reaches of the cosmos. But one of physics’ most exciting frontiers lies much closer than we realize: within our own bodies and other living organisms, which display astonishingly intricate structural patterns and dynamic processes that we don’t yet understand.

In “Living Matter,” leading biophysicist Alex Levine explains why unraveling the mysteries of life may ultimately demand a new physics — one that takes full account of the fundamental differences between living and nonliving matter.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Games for Your Mind’

Updated 12 April 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Games for Your Mind’

Author: Jason Rosenhouse

Logic puzzles were first introduced to the public by Lewis Carroll in the late 19th century and have been popular ever since.

Games like Sudoku and Mastermind are fun and engrossing recreational activities, but they also share deep foundations in mathematical logic and are worthy of serious intellectual inquiry. 

“Games for Your Mind” explores the history and future of logic puzzles while enabling you to test your skill against a variety of puzzles yourself.


What We Are Reading Today: The Thinking Machine

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Updated 11 April 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: The Thinking Machine

  • It explores Huang’s leadership style—described as single-minded and relentless—and his ability to defy Wall Street skepticism to push a radical computing vision, making him one of the wealthiest and most influential figures in Silicon Valley

Author: Stephen Witt

“The Thinking Machine” is the story of how Nvidia evolved to supplying hundred-million-dollar supercomputers.
It is a biography that dives into the rise of Nvidia and its CEO, Jensen Huang, focusing on their pivotal role in the AI revolution.
The book highlights Huang’s bold vision, particularly his early bet on AI over a decade ago, which transformed Nvidia from a maker of video game components into a powerhouse supplying massive supercomputers for AI applications like hyper-realistic avatars, autonomous robots, and self-driving cars.
It explores Huang’s leadership style—described as single-minded and relentless—and his ability to defy Wall Street skepticism to push a radical computing vision, making him one of the wealthiest and most influential figures in Silicon Valley.
Through unprecedented access to Huang, his friends, his investors, and his employees, Stephen Witt documents for the first time the company’s epic rise and its single-minded and ferocious leader, now one of Silicon Valley’s most influential figures.

Witt is an American journalist and author known for his narrative-driven, deeply reported works on technology, culture, and innovation.

Witt’s style is noted for its clarity, wit, and ability to make dense topics accessible without sacrificing depth.