Description
Book SynopsisExplore the depths of consciousness through the essential groundbreaking international bestseller.
“Finally, a book that really does explain consciousness.”—John Casti, scientist and author of What Scientists Can Know About the FutureWith foundations in psychology, evolutionary biology, and information theory, Demark’s leading science writer argues a revolutionary point: that consciousness represents only an infinitesimal fraction of our ability to process information. Although we are unaware of it, our brains sift through and discard billions of pieces of data in order to allow us to understand the world around us. In this thought-provoking work, Norretranders argues that our perceptions are not direct representations of the world we experience, but instead, illusions our brains craft to process it.
More timely and relevant than ever, in light of rapid development in artificial intelligence and large lan
Table of ContentsPart 1 Computation: Maxwell's demon; throwing away information; infinite algorithms; the depth of complexity. Part 2 Communication: the tree of talking; the bandwidth of consciousness; the bomb of psychology; the view from within. Part 3 Consciousness: the half-second delay; Maxwell's Me; the user illusion; the origin of consiousness. Part 4 Composure: inside nothing; on the edge of chaos; the nonlinear line; the sublime.