Neuroscience students will find this book particularly intriguing as it attempts to explain the raison d’être of the brain. Here is an evolutionary explanation of how the brain’s ability to move an animal around the environment to help maximize its survival inevitably leads to the generation of self-awareness or consciousness. In essence, we learn how the brain must use sensory data as well as an internal image of the self to create a form of cohesive virtual reality that permits the animal to constantly predict what will happen around itself. The idea is of course hypothetical, and not without detractors, but it is well argued and supported by basic facts. Given the profundity of the topic, which has preoccupied many a sage throughout the ages, with no clear consensus on what consciousness means or how the brain plays a role, the reader is entitled to approach this book with some trepidation. However, the reader should likewise be aware that if there is anyone qualified to attempt such a synthesis, it would be Llinás, who is widely considered to be one of the architects of modern neuroscience.
At 266 pages, this book is not particularly long, nor is it incomprehensibly dense. The occasional technical term creeps up here and there, and some basic knowledge of molecular biology is assumed of the reader, but overall, these faults do not prevent a neophyte from grasping all the key concepts. Oddly enough, it is the figures throughout the text that diminish the reading experience. Almost without exception, they either suffer from very low resolution, have oversimplified legends, or seem out of place. Disregarding them outright might not be such a bad idea.
One last thought before I conclude. Although this book was published 24 years ago at the time of this review, the subject matter is still very relevant. Indeed, today we are not any closer to understanding the seat of consciousness in a biological system. Moreover, we currently find ourselves debating whether Artificial Intelligence (AI) can theoretically ever become conscious, with disturbing implications. In the last chapter (12, “The Collective Mind?”), Llinás broaches this subject in the context of the World Wide Web, which was in its infancy at the time. Somewhat presciently, he discusses the dangers of “hive minds”, much of which played out later with the advent of social media, and which can be further exacerbated by AI in the near future. While he does not think the collective mind made possible by the internet is a conscious entity, he does reveal how he thinks a computer can potentially engender consciousness. Llinás is hardly being a sensationalist here as this is an inevitable conclusion borne of his hypothesis of how neural networks generate consciousness. Curious? Then find a copy of this book and jump right in.
