A deeply researched and beautifully written account of how the human brain evolved, from the earliest primates through the modern age.
The human brain is an astonishing thing. No other life form on the planet has a brain like ours. How did such a unique brain emerge? How did a bundle of cells weighing just 1.2 kg give rise to conscious, self—aware beings capable of understanding time, language, mathematics and music, of exploring outer space and sequencing their own DNA? From what curious blend of nature and nurture did such astonishing intelligence arise? The answer these questions and more is a 7-million-year-long saga. It is the story of how the human brain evolved.
A Brain Like No Other is the definitive book on the evolution of the human mind. A sweeping natural history, it describes the remarkable origin of our species' most mysterious organ and how it has developed into its miraculous modern form. A Brain Like No Other also sets out to answer existential questions about what the future holds in store for our brains. Will brain—computer interfaces change human life? Can humans free their minds from the confines of biology and achieve digital immortality? What are the implications of such advances —— will the self evolve also?
Drawing on the latest breakthroughs in neuroscience, psychology, and evolutionary biology, A Brain Like No Other is a fascinating, in—depth look at where the organ that truly makes us human comes from —— and where it is going.
