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Perhaps nothing in nature is more mysterious
than the human mind. Where does it come from? What makes
it work? And where does our consciousness go when we die?
Written in an extraordinarily lucid style
Elemental Mind is a brilliant and audacious attempt
to arrive at a solution to the "mind/body problem."
Until now the debate has been dominated by two major conjectures.
One holds that the mind is the result of certain complex
biological interactions; the other asserts that the mind
is the "software" that controls the brain's computerlike
"hardware." This book presents a third hypothesis
-- one that boldly casts aside traditional explanations
about inner mental states. And it does so by drawing on
sources as diverse as Vonnegut and Heisenberg, not to mention
imagined encounters with an entrancing, highly intelligent
robot named Claire.
Founding his argument on the three key features
of quantum theory (randomness, thinglessness, and interconnectedness),
Nick Herbert explores the intriguing hypothesis that, far
from being a derivative phenomenon, mind is a fundamental
process in its own right, as widespread and deeply embedded
in nature as light or electricity. In his fascinating and
iconoclastic view, mind is indeed elemental -- and it interacts
with matter at an equally elemental level.
Elegantly written and startlingly original,
Elemental Mind offers a new approach to the riddle
of consciousness, which has challenged philosophers and
scientists for centuries. Its implications are nothing short
of revolutionary.
Nick Herbert has a doctorate in physics
from Sanford University and is the author of two previous
books, Quantum Reality and Faster Than Light.
He has directed physics seminars and international conferences
on quantum physics at the Esalen Institute in California.
He lives in Boulder Creek, California.
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