Donald Firesmith
Author of What Lurks Below (Hell Holes, #1)
About the Author
Donald G. Firesmith is senior member of technical staff in the Software Solutions Division at the Software Engineering Institute (SEI). There, he helps the U.S. Department of Defense and other agencies acquire large, complex, software-reliant systems. An internationally recognized software and show more systems engineering expert, he has published books on requirements engineering, architecture engineering, situational method engineering, testing, and object-oriented development. show less
Disambiguation Notice:
Books published under Donald Firesmith, Donald George Firesmith, and Wolfrick Ignatius Feuerschmied (pen name)
Series
Works by Donald Firesmith
Object-Oriented Requirements Analysis and Logical Design: A Software Engineering Approach (1993) 13 copies
Dictionary of Object Technology: The Definitive Desk Reference (SIGS Reference Library) (1995) 10 copies
The Simulation Theory of Consciousness: (or Your Autonomous Car is Sentient) (2019) 2 copies, 1 review
Technology of object-oriented languages and systems : TOOLS 30 : proceedings : August 1-5, 1999, Santa barbara, California (1999) 1 copy
Future Dreams and Nightmares 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Donald Firesmith
- Legal name
- Donald George Firesmith
- Birthdate
- 1952-06-14
- Gender
- male
- Education
- Linfield College (BA | Mathematics, German)
Arizona State University (MA | Mathematics) - Occupations
- software engineer
system engineer
author - Awards and honors
- Distinguished Engineer (Association of Computing Machinery, 2016)
CIBA Book Series Awards Shortlist (The Hell Holes Trilogy, 2025) - Short biography
- A computer geek by day, Donald Firesmith works as a system and software engineer helping the US Government acquire large, complex software-intensive systems. In this guise, he has authored seven technical books, written numerous software- and system-related articles and papers, and spoken at more conferences than he can possibly remember. He is also proud to have been named a Distinguished Engineer by the Association of Computing Machinery, although his pride is tempered somewhat worrying whether the term “distinguished” makes him sound more like a graybeard academic rather than an active engineer whose beard is still more red than gray.
By night and on weekends, his alter ego writes modern paranormal fantasy, apocalyptic science fiction, action and adventure novels and relaxes by handcrafting magic wands from various magical woods and mystical gemstones. His first foray into fiction is the book Magical Wands: A Cornucopia of Wand Lore written under the pen name Wolfrick Ignatius Feuerschmied. He lives in Crafton, Pennsylvania with his wife Becky, his son Dane, and varying numbers of dogs, cats, and birds. - Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA
- Places of residence
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- Map Location
- USA
- Disambiguation notice
- Books published under Donald Firesmith, Donald George Firesmith, and Wolfrick Ignatius Feuerschmied (pen name)
Members
Reviews
“…any autonomous system that must successfully interact with, and moves around in, the real world must produce a cohesive and consistent real-time simulation of the relevant aspects of itself and its environment…” Or, in plainer language, anything which moves about under its own steam can only do so by using the simulation of its surroundings (including a representation of itself of course) which it has running inside its own head.
Whereas plants don’t need to do any of show more that—they don’t move about, the world comes to them—most animals certainly do need to, be they fish or fowl, horse or human. The thing is, autonomous machines of all kinds also do this, from humanoid robots to driverless vehicles, and Donald Firesmith’s contention here is that anything which does this is, by definition, sentient.
The bulk of the text (and accompanying diagrams) reads rather like a manual or set of engineering specs. First the human brain, then a self-driving vehicle: the idea is to illustrate just how similar these two systems are—when viewed, that’s to say, simply as systems, purely in terms of function rather than form. The author’s claim is that form is irrelevant in this context and that two entities which function in precisely the same way will be equally sentient—it makes no difference whether we’re talking about carbon, oxygen, glucose and cells, or silicon, copper, electricity and steel. Horses, humans and self-driving vehicles: we’re all conscious to some degree or other.
This is an odd book in both respects (form as well as function!), but I’ve spent far more time thinking about it (and re-reading) than I was expecting to. And I’ll leave you with its most memorable image: picture one of those new driverless taxicabs, suddenly sick of battling its way through the rush-hour traffic, bunking off work to go park quietly on its own for an hour or two in its favourite beauty-spot. Somewhere sometime, if Firesmith is right, that’s going to happen. show less
Whereas plants don’t need to do any of show more that—they don’t move about, the world comes to them—most animals certainly do need to, be they fish or fowl, horse or human. The thing is, autonomous machines of all kinds also do this, from humanoid robots to driverless vehicles, and Donald Firesmith’s contention here is that anything which does this is, by definition, sentient.
The bulk of the text (and accompanying diagrams) reads rather like a manual or set of engineering specs. First the human brain, then a self-driving vehicle: the idea is to illustrate just how similar these two systems are—when viewed, that’s to say, simply as systems, purely in terms of function rather than form. The author’s claim is that form is irrelevant in this context and that two entities which function in precisely the same way will be equally sentient—it makes no difference whether we’re talking about carbon, oxygen, glucose and cells, or silicon, copper, electricity and steel. Horses, humans and self-driving vehicles: we’re all conscious to some degree or other.
This is an odd book in both respects (form as well as function!), but I’ve spent far more time thinking about it (and re-reading) than I was expecting to. And I’ll leave you with its most memorable image: picture one of those new driverless taxicabs, suddenly sick of battling its way through the rush-hour traffic, bunking off work to go park quietly on its own for an hour or two in its favourite beauty-spot. Somewhere sometime, if Firesmith is right, that’s going to happen. show less
Secrets of Hawthorne House by Donald Firesmith is a charming ‘found family’ story that deftly illustrates how people of different cultures/ spiritual backgrounds can get along just fine. For decades, Vivianne Hawthorne has kept to herself and not interacted with the residents of the town her grandfather gave name to. That changes when the Mitchell family moves next door. Matt, looking for odd jobs to earn money, approaches Mrs Hawthorne about working in her overgrown yard. The elderly show more lady reluctantly agrees, thinking he's just there to trick her, like several bully kids like to do. Matt proves his worth though, and every weekend works to tame the yard. Then Vivianne's great-niece and her kids move in, and Matt finds a best friend in Gerralt, a boy his age. But there's more to Gerralt and the Hawthornes than ever Matt might guess.
Over the course of the story, the boys confront bullies (in hysterical ways!), learn to trust that difference isn't bad, and the strange and unusual need not be feared, and even find treasure! This story engaged me right from the start. At first, I wasn't so certain 'druid’ was the correct term for the Hawthornes, but that gets resolved later in the story. I enjoyed learning about their ancestors’ past. I'm doubly grateful that Matt, and later his family, learned to at least accept the Hawthornes’ faith, even if they cannot share it, and believe there must be a different explanation. I adored that the author wrote the Hawthornes as they spoke, accents and all. It immediately reminded me of how my Welsh friend speaks, and it's later revealed that the Hawthornes’ ancestry is Welsh, and that they tend to live in isolated colonies which may serve to preserve parts of the accent. At any rate, I loved it! Also, most of their names reflect Welsh ancestry. Slow me took a bit to recall that Gerralt is nothing more exotic than Gerald.
Several characters have to step out of their comfort zones. Matt must learn to accept Gerralt's faith, the younger Hawthornes have to have far greater interaction with technology than they're used to. On Deer Isle, where a colony exists, electricity is not used. They are living experimental archaeology. Vivianne, I think, took the bravest step by going out to supper with everyone despite being terrified of ridicule and persecution by the townsfolk, many of whom believe she killed her husband and best friend over an affair. I just can't imagine her doing such a thing. She seems so sweet. I'm definitely looking forward to reading the next in the series!
***Many thanks to the author for providing an ecopy in exchange for a fair and honest review. Reviewed for Silver Dagger Blog Tours show less
Over the course of the story, the boys confront bullies (in hysterical ways!), learn to trust that difference isn't bad, and the strange and unusual need not be feared, and even find treasure! This story engaged me right from the start. At first, I wasn't so certain 'druid’ was the correct term for the Hawthornes, but that gets resolved later in the story. I enjoyed learning about their ancestors’ past. I'm doubly grateful that Matt, and later his family, learned to at least accept the Hawthornes’ faith, even if they cannot share it, and believe there must be a different explanation. I adored that the author wrote the Hawthornes as they spoke, accents and all. It immediately reminded me of how my Welsh friend speaks, and it's later revealed that the Hawthornes’ ancestry is Welsh, and that they tend to live in isolated colonies which may serve to preserve parts of the accent. At any rate, I loved it! Also, most of their names reflect Welsh ancestry. Slow me took a bit to recall that Gerralt is nothing more exotic than Gerald.
Several characters have to step out of their comfort zones. Matt must learn to accept Gerralt's faith, the younger Hawthornes have to have far greater interaction with technology than they're used to. On Deer Isle, where a colony exists, electricity is not used. They are living experimental archaeology. Vivianne, I think, took the bravest step by going out to supper with everyone despite being terrified of ridicule and persecution by the townsfolk, many of whom believe she killed her husband and best friend over an affair. I just can't imagine her doing such a thing. She seems so sweet. I'm definitely looking forward to reading the next in the series!
***Many thanks to the author for providing an ecopy in exchange for a fair and honest review. Reviewed for Silver Dagger Blog Tours show less
The thing is, it takes a lot of talent to write a sci-fi novel with something new to say. A fresh take. A Slave’s Revenge, the fourth installment of the Hell Holes series, does have that fresh take, and it comes under the form of demonic aliens. They hail from Hell, which is a physical place, and kidnap people in order to enslave them. Our MC, Paul, gets captured when he’s a teenager, and works his way to the top, sort of, before he manages to get his revenge. Saving the world while show more he’s at it may or may not be a plus.
[Keep reading @ Bookshelves & Teacups] show less
[Keep reading @ Bookshelves & Teacups] show less
Dr. Jack Oswald is a geologist at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. Just before classes are ready to begin for the semester, Jack receives an urgent call from Kevin Kowalski who works for ExxonMobil drilling oil. There have been a series of mysterious holes opening up around the drilling fields that are affecting operations. The holes are deep and perfectly cylindrical and just plain strange. Jack has been hired to investigate; he assembles his team consisting of his wife, Dr. Angela show more Menendez, a climatologist, two of his grad students Mark and Jill Starr, a wildlife biologist Bill Henderson and is cajoled into taking along AIleen O'Shannon, a photojournalist. When the team arrives in Deadhorse, they immediately get to work exploring the holes. However, upon closer examination of the holes, no explanation for the holes can be found. Then, disaster strikes and all hell is literally unleashed. Now, the research team turns instead to survival and perhaps sending the demons back to where they belong.
This was a fast-paced and short read that managed to combine climate science and supernatural horror in an effective way. The book is written from Jack's point of view as a memoir of a survivor the attacks. The first part of the story is a bit of an info dump as Jack's explains what he does, describes the fieldwork and his team's hypotheses about the holes. As a scientist myself, I enjoyed reading about permafrost and pingos and liked that climate science is featured in a book. The story quickly picks up as hell breaks out on Earth. One character has a large surprise up their sleeve that may help the team out of the mess if they can accept their new reality. The different demons were all very interesting and I wish Bill could have continued his post mortem of the Hellhound. Since this is a memoir of events, there is not much characterization, but more focus on events. The story ends on quite a cliffhanger and with a sneak peek of book two at the end, I will definitely want to read on.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review. show less
This was a fast-paced and short read that managed to combine climate science and supernatural horror in an effective way. The book is written from Jack's point of view as a memoir of a survivor the attacks. The first part of the story is a bit of an info dump as Jack's explains what he does, describes the fieldwork and his team's hypotheses about the holes. As a scientist myself, I enjoyed reading about permafrost and pingos and liked that climate science is featured in a book. The story quickly picks up as hell breaks out on Earth. One character has a large surprise up their sleeve that may help the team out of the mess if they can accept their new reality. The different demons were all very interesting and I wish Bill could have continued his post mortem of the Hellhound. Since this is a memoir of events, there is not much characterization, but more focus on events. The story ends on quite a cliffhanger and with a sneak peek of book two at the end, I will definitely want to read on.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review. show less
Awards
Statistics
- Works
- 16
- Members
- 127
- Popularity
- #158,247
- Rating
- 4.0
- Reviews
- 13
- ISBNs
- 27
