Physical Intelligence
The Science of Thinking Without Thinking
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- 44,99 lei
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- 44,99 lei
Publisher Description
'An instant classic' Michael S. Gazzaniga, author of The Consciousness Instinct
How do you pick the right moment to cross a busy road?
Or decide if you can drive through a storm?
What helps you discover a shortcut to a familiar route?
The answer is PHYSICAL INTELLIGENCE.
Renowned neuroscientist, doctor and keen climber Scott Grafton draws on the very latest research, experiences with patients and his own dangerous hikes in the wilderness to explore the hidden depths of this silent intellect we all possess.
Physical Intelligence explains the science behind our oldest ability and takes a fascinating and vital look at how we could and should use it better.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Grafton, director of UC Santa Barbara's Brain Imaging Center, explains the "components of the mind that allow anyone to engage with and change the world" in this thoughtful debut. He uses both personal experience solo hiking and camping adventures in California's High Sierra region and medical and scientific case studies to illustrate his points. To explain "body schema," the map of the body that the brain maintains to control posture and movement, Grafton uses examples of how it can malfunction, such as in people with epilepsy, one of whom reported, just before an attack, feeling "herself become smaller and smaller." To probe the subject of "self-guidance navigation," he describes relying on limited external cues to get himself out of a potentially treacherous hiking environment. The book's concepts aren't always intuitive, but Grafton does his best to employ understandable examples, such as cooking breakfast as an instance of "hierarchical reinforcement learning," or fixing his camp stove as an illustration of motor control. This is a well-written introduction to what's going on when one performs everyday but deeply complex actions, such as walking, which "demonstrates a beautiful calculus that the brain endlessly performs to inform movement."
