This “brief history” quickly goes through each section, though some aspects of intelligence could have been covered more thoroughly for reader understanding. However, the book is quite interesting and it does give plenty of references so that interested readers can find out more about each aspect.

The book starts with a short discussion of the general form of intelligence for all humans, also mentioning that animals and even plants have some intelligence. It then goes into more detail about how universities help develop intelligence, particularly through the teaching of physics, the teaching of chemistry, and the teaching of biology. It then further explores human intelligence, how information increases intelligence, and how new modern things like the Internet and mobile phones increase intelligence.

Next are sections on intelligence in machines, in particular computers that have what is called artificial intelligence (AI), meaning code that seems very intelligent in how it helps people by what it provides when it is used. Its several diagrams show how code is divided into pieces and how the pieces interact, which is how good quality code needs to be written. As noted, a computer system works well with intelligence for the task it is created for, but it does not have the general intelligence of humans. As noted, it is important to write code so it works efficiently, which can be considered making it more intelligent. It should also be well structured, which makes it easier to modify code to make it more efficient or to add new aspects to it. Well-structured code also allows for more than one person to use it at the same time, while ensuring that one user’s work doesn’t cause problems for another user.

The book finishes by discussing the metaverse, which is more about enabling written things to be shared. A metaverse is a network of shared, immersive virtual words where people can connect with friends, create and play games, work, and shop.

The book will be useful for anyone who is learning to write computer code, to help them understand the importance of writing code in a way that makes it well structured and efficient. It is good to understand this, in addition to writing code that produces what is required of it. I am saying this as a long-time university lecturer of programming, where a lot of what I teach is about how to write efficient code, how to make it well structured, and why that is important.