Are the Androids Dreaming Yet? Amazing Brain, Human Communication, Creativity & Free Will by James Tagg
THIS COPY HAS BEEN SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR ON THE HALF-TITLE PAGE (without dedication); 2015 1st ed published by Hurst Farm Books, 419pp., text sound, very slight staining to blank page opposite the half-title one from the author's signature, old erased pencil price just visible to top right hand corner of the front free end paper, boards just a tad warped, very slight rubbing to board corners at the bottom & to base of spine, ISBN sticker on rear board, the dust jacket has internal staining to the spine from the blue boards, is very slightly rubbed & creased at the top, front has a few scratches, more so the rear along with some marks.
Alan Turing invented the computer, helped win World War II and left us with one of the greatest puzzles of our time - the imitation game. Can computers do everything a human mind can do? Many scientists think we have a tenuous hold on the title, "most intelligent being on the planet". They think it's just a matter of time before computers become smarter than us, and then what? This book charts a journey through the science of information, from the origins of language and logic, to the frontiers of modern physics. From Lewis Carroll's logic puzzles, through Alan Turing and his work on Enigma, to John Bell's inequality, and finally the Conway-Kochen 'Free Will' Theorem. How do the laws of physics give us our creativity, our rich experience of communication and, especially, our free will? James Tagg is an inventor and entrepreneur. A pioneer of touchscreen technology, he has founded several companies, including Truphone, the world's first global mobile network. He holds numerous patents, filed in over a hundred countries. He studied Physics and Computer Science at Manchester University, Design at Lancaster University and Engineering at Cambridge University.
From an online review: "This is a fantastic book. It seams together cutting edge neuroscience, psychology, thought experiments, artificial intelligence/machine learning, mathematics and even some history! The author throws in some exercises and experiments that you can try yourself too which is good and gets you engaged. The style is like that of Adam Curtis and manages to keep a constant level of interest.
I think along with the spiritual aspects of being human this book was interesting because it explores the mechanical aspect of how we are wired up to this existence including recent developments like the Penrose and Hameroff Orch-OR model of consciousness.
For anyone interested in a meta-analysis of the brain and how to get more from the greatest tool you will EVER own, get this book!".
Will ship by Royal Mail 1st Class Signed for, well packaged.