The User Illusion

Cutting Consciousness Down to Size

Tor Norretranders

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Danish

Penguin Books Ltd
01 August 1999

Psychology; Cognition & cognitive psychology; Popular psychology

As John Casti wrote, ""Finally, a book that really does explain consciousness."" This groundbreaking work by Denmark's leading science writer draws on psychology, evolutionary biology, information theory, and other disciplines to argue its revolutionary point- that consciousness represents only an infinitesimal fraction of our ability to process information. Although we are unaware of it, our brains sift through and discard billions of pieces of data in order to allow us to understand the world around us. In fact, most of what we call thought is actually the unconscious discarding of information. What our consciousness rejects constitutes the most valuable part of ourselves, the ""Me"" that the ""I"" draws on for most of our actions--fluent speech, riding a bicycle, anything involving expertise. No wonder that, in this age of information, so many of us feel empty and dissatisfied. As engaging as it is insightful, this important book encourages us to rely more on what our instincts and our senses tell us so that we can better appreciate the richness of human life.

By: Tor Norretranders
Imprint: Penguin Books Ltd
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Edition: New edition
Dimensions: Height: 196mm, Width: 132mm, Spine: 25mm
Weight: 369g
ISBN: 9780140230123
ISBN 10: 0140230122
Pages: 480
Publication Date: 01 August 1999
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Part 1 Computation: Maxwell's demon; throwing away information; infinite algorithms; the depth of complexity. Part 2 Communication: the tree of talking; the bandwidth of consciousness; the bomb of psychology; the view from within. Part 3 Consciousness: the half-second delay; Maxwell's Me; the user illusion; the origin of consiousness. Part 4 Composure: inside nothing; on the edge of chaos; the nonlinear line; the sublime.

Reviews for The User Illusion: Cutting Consciousness Down to Size

This is an accessible guide to consciousness, but be warned that it leans towards the flaky end of the spectrum of expertise. The basic message is fairly uncontentious - that human beings are very efficient at processing information unconsciously, and as any sports person knows, it is better to act 'on instinct' rather than trying to think about, say, how to hit a cricket ball. But maybe Norretranders goes too far in urging us to trust all our hunches, considering his claim that there is actually too little information around for us to process these days. Great fun, though. (Kirkus UK)