Your Brain Is a Time Machine: The Neuroscience and Physics of Time

Author: Dean Buonomano
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393247953
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 357

Book Description
"Beautifully written, eloquently reasoned…Mr. Buonomano takes us off and running on an edifying scientific journey." —Carol Tavris, Wall Street Journal In Your Brain Is a Time Machine, leading neuroscientist Dean Buonomano embarks on an "immensely engaging" exploration of how time works inside the brain (Barbara Kiser, Nature). The human brain, he argues, is a complex system that not only tells time, but creates it; it constructs our sense of chronological movement and enables "mental time travel"—simulations of future and past events. These functions are essential not only to our daily lives but to the evolution of the human race: without the ability to anticipate the future, mankind would never have crafted tools or invented agriculture. This virtuosic work of popular science will lead you to a revelation as strange as it is true: your brain is, at its core, a time machine.

The Time Machine illustrated

Author: H. G. Wells
Publisher: BoD - Books on Demand
ISBN: 2384370014
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 114

Book Description
The Time Machine by H. G. Wells is a science fiction classic, which lends itself well to visualization. This version, illustrated by Yoann Laurent-Rouault, an illustrator master who graduated from the Beaux-Arts, and published in the international literary collection Memoria Books, is a reference on the time travel theme. Wells transports us in the year 802 701, in a society made up of the “Elois”, who live peacefully in a kind of big Garden of Eden, eating fruits and sleeping high up, while underground lives another species, also descending from men, the “Morlocks”, who do not stand the light anymore, living in the dark for too long now. At night, they return to the surface, going back up by the wells, in order to kidnap some Elois that they eat ; these last became livestock unknowingly. In The Time Machine, made into a movie several times, the last of them in 2002 by Simon Wells, the great-grandson of H. G. Wells, time is both a pretext to move the class struggle and warn... and also, in a way, a full character, who fascinates, arbitrates, transcends... The illustrations come to reinforce the time travel and provide a new experience to the reader.

How We Learn

Author: Stanislas Dehaene
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0525559906
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 369

Book Description
“There are words that are so familiar they obscure rather than illuminate the thing they mean, and ‘learning’ is such a word. It seems so ordinary, everyone does it. Actually it’s more of a black box, which Dehaene cracks open to reveal the awesome secrets within.”--The New York Times Book Review An illuminating dive into the latest science on our brain's remarkable learning abilities and the potential of the machines we program to imitate them The human brain is an extraordinary learning machine. Its ability to reprogram itself is unparalleled, and it remains the best source of inspiration for recent developments in artificial intelligence. But how do we learn? What innate biological foundations underlie our ability to acquire new information, and what principles modulate their efficiency? In How We Learn, Stanislas Dehaene finds the boundary of computer science, neurobiology, and cognitive psychology to explain how learning really works and how to make the best use of the brain’s learning algorithms in our schools and universities, as well as in everyday life and at any age.

Smarter Tomorrow

Author: Elizabeth R. Ricker
Publisher: Little, Brown Spark
ISBN: 0316535087
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 352

Book Description
What if you could upgrade your brain in 15 minutes a day? Let Elizabeth Ricker, an MIT and Harvard-trained brain researcher turned Silicon Valley technologist, show you how. Join Ricker on a wild and edifying romp through the cutting-edge world of neuroscience and biohacking. You'll encounter Olympic athletes, a game show contestant, a memory marvel, a famous CEO, and scientists galore. From Ricker’s decade-long quest, you will learn: ● The brain-based reason so many self-improvement projects fail . . . But how a little-known secret of Nobel Prize winning scientists could finally unlock success ● Which four abilities—both cognitive and emotional—can predict success in work and relationships . . . and a new system for improving all four ● Which seven research-tested tools can supercharge mental performance. They range from low-tech (a surprising new mindset) to downright futuristic (an electrical device for at-home brain stimulation) Best of all, you will learn to upgrade your brain with Ricker’s 20 customizable self-experiments and a sample, 12-week schedule. Ricker distills insights from dozens of interviews and hundreds of research studies from around the world. She tests almost everything on herself, whether it’s nicotine, video games, meditation, or a little-known beverage from the Pacific islands. Some experiments fail hilariously—but others transform her cognition. She is able to sharpen her memory, increase her attention span, boost her mood, and clear her brain fog. By following Ricker’s system, you’ll uncover your own boosts to mental performance, too. Join a growing, global movement of neurohackers revolutionizing their careers and relationships. Let this book change 15 minutes of your day, and it may just change the rest of your life!

Human and Machine Consciousness

Author: David Gamez
Publisher: Open Book Publishers
ISBN: 1783743018
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 205

Book Description
Consciousness is widely perceived as one of the most fundamental, interesting and difficult problems of our time. However, we still know next to nothing about the relationship between consciousness and the brain and we can only speculate about the consciousness of animals and machines. Human and Machine Consciousness presents a new foundation for the scientific study of consciousness. It sets out a bold interpretation of consciousness that neutralizes the philosophical problems and explains how we can make scientific predictions about the consciousness of animals, brain-damaged patients and machines. Gamez interprets the scientific study of consciousness as a search for mathematical theories that map between measurements of consciousness and measurements of the physical world. We can use artificial intelligence to discover these theories and they could make accurate predictions about the consciousness of humans, animals and artificial systems. Human and Machine Consciousness also provides original insights into unusual conscious experiences, such as hallucinations, religious experiences and out-of-body states, and demonstrates how ‘designer’ states of consciousness could be created in the future. Gamez explains difficult concepts in a clear way that closely engages with scientific research. His punchy, concise prose is packed with vivid examples, making it suitable for the educated general reader as well as philosophers and scientists. Problems are brought to life in colourful illustrations and a helpful summary is given at the end of each chapter. The endnotes provide detailed discussions of individual points and full references to the scientific and philosophical literature.

Are You a Machine?

Author: Eliezer J. Sternberg
Publisher: Rlpg/Galleys
ISBN:
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 180

Book Description
Right now, someone in an artificial intelligence lab is fusing silicon circuitry in an attempt to engineer the human mind. In a hospital, a neurosurgeon is attempting to influence a patient's emotions by firing electrical impulses into his brain. In a classroom, a teacher is explaining how neurons in the brain interact to generate thoughts, feelings, and decisions. The question of where consciousness comes from and how it works is likely the greatest mystery we face. Despite progress in our knowledge of the brain, we still don't know how it allows us to do things like enjoy a sunset, solve a math problem, or use our imagination. For those of us who have ever thought about issues of the mind or free will, these developments pose provocative questions. What would happen if those mysterious processes could be understood? Would a scientist be able to know everything about our minds just from studying the systems in our brains? Could he predict how we will think and act? After all, the brain is an organ just like the heart or stomach, and scientists can figure out when the heart will beat and when the stomach will release bile. If such a thing could be accomplished, would that make me a machine? There are those who approach this question from a technological perspective. Someday, an engineer might be able to build a robot with my memories, opinions, and behavior. Would that make me a machine? This concise, lucid primer on neuroscience and philosophy of mind takes the reader to the very depths of the mystery of consciousness, exploring it through the eyes of key philosophers, neuroscientists, and technologists. Avoiding jargon and oversimplification, author Eliezer J. Sternberg illuminates baffling questions of the brain, mind, and what it means to be human.

The Idea of the Brain

Author: Matthew Cobb
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 154164686X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 521

Book Description
An "elegant", "engrossing" (Carol Tavris, Wall Street Journal) examination of what we think we know about the brain and why -- despite technological advances -- the workings of our most essential organ remain a mystery. "I cannot recommend this book strongly enough."--Henry Marsh, author of Do No Harm For thousands of years, thinkers and scientists have tried to understand what the brain does. Yet, despite the astonishing discoveries of science, we still have only the vaguest idea of how the brain works. In The Idea of the Brain, scientist and historian Matthew Cobb traces how our conception of the brain has evolved over the centuries. Although it might seem to be a story of ever-increasing knowledge of biology, Cobb shows how our ideas about the brain have been shaped by each era's most significant technologies. Today we might think the brain is like a supercomputer. In the past, it has been compared to a telegraph, a telephone exchange, or some kind of hydraulic system. What will we think the brain is like tomorrow, when new technology arises? The result is an essential read for anyone interested in the complex processes that drive science and the forces that have shaped our marvelous brains.

Classics Reimagined The Time Machine

Author: H.G. Wells
Publisher: Rockport Publishers
ISBN: 1631597280
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 211

Book Description
Retold with stunning modern illustration by the studio team Ale + Ale, The Time Machine is a masterpiece of invention and storytelling from the father of science fiction, H. G. Wells. In this unabridged classic, the time-traveling protagonist is propelled by his machine to the distant year of 802,701 AD. To his horror, he finds only a decaying Earth that is being gradually swallowed by the Sun, and where two strange species—the delicate Eloi and the fierce, subterranean Morlocks—inhabit an eerie dystopia. The Time Machine is a must-read for any science-fiction fan. The collage illustrations complement the story through vivid imagery and detail. Key passages of the book are highlighted in eye-catching typography, further enhancing the experience. The Classics Reimagined series is a library of stunning collector's editions of unabridged classic novels illustrated by contemporary artists from around the world. Each artist offers his or her own unique, visual interpretation of the most well-loved, widely read, and avidly collected literature from renowned authors. From Frankenstein to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and from Jane Austen to Edgar Allan Poe, collect every beautiful volume.

Brains Through Time

Author: Georg F. Striedter
Publisher:
ISBN: 0195125681
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 541

Book Description
This book encourages readers to view similarities and differences in various species as fundamental to a comprehensive understanding of nervous systems.

Mind Is Flat

Author: Nick Chater
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300240619
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 264

Book Description
In a radical reinterpretation of how the mind works, an eminent behavioral scientist reveals the illusion of mental depth Psychologists and neuroscientists struggle with how best to interpret human motivation and decision making. The assumption is that below a mental “surface” of conscious awareness lies a deep and complex set of inner beliefs, values, and desires that govern our thoughts, ideas, and actions, and that to know this depth is to know ourselves. In this profoundly original book, behavioral scientist Nick Chater contends just the opposite: rather than being the plaything of unconscious currents, the brain generates behaviors in the moment based entirely on our past experiences. Engaging the reader with eye-opening experiments and visual examples, the author first demolishes our intuitive sense of how our mind works, then argues for a positive interpretation of the brain as a ceaseless and creative improviser.