Sandra Blakeslee Books
Jeff Hawkins is the co-founder of the companies Palm and Handspring. After inventing the PalmPilot and the Treo smartphone, he began working for the Redwood Neuroscience Institute, a non-profit organization. It was there that he developed some of the theories presented in these blinks.
Sandra Blakeslee writes for the New York Times as a science correspondent. She is the co-author of several books such as Phantoms in the Brain.
On Intelligence
What's On Intelligence about?
These blinks provide an overview of the human brain’s capacity for thinking and for comparing new experiences to old memories. They also explain why today’s machines still aren’t able to emulate this capability, but why we may soon be able to build ones that can.
Who should read On Intelligence?
- Anyone interested in how the brain works or what makes us intelligent and conscious beings
- Anyone who wants to know whether we’ll ever build machines that are truly intelligent
- Anyone wondering whether such intelligent machines would be good or bad for humanity
Phantoms in the Brain
What's Phantoms in the Brain about?
Phantoms in the Brain (1998) is an enduring classic of popular science that has transformed how we think about the brain and its relationship to the human experience. Drawing on the author’s clinical practice, it presents a series of patients with rare and astonishing neurological conditions. These case studies illuminate the architecture of our brains and, in the process, cast fresh light on timeless philosophical questions regarding the nature of consciousness, identity, and reality itself.
Who should read Phantoms in the Brain?
- Aficionados of strange and extraordinary tales
- Perennial learners looking for an accessible introduction to neurology
- Anyone who wants insight into how the mind works