The Emperor's New Mind
Book by Sir Roger Penrose / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about The Emperor's New Mind?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
The Emperor's New Mind: Concerning Computers, Minds and The Laws of Physics is a 1989 book by the mathematical physicist Roger Penrose.
Author | Roger Penrose |
---|---|
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Subject | Artificial intelligence |
Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Publication date | November 9, 1989 |
Media type | Print (hardcover and paperback) |
Pages | 480 |
ISBN | 0-19-851973-7 (first edition, hardcover) |
OCLC | 19724273 |
006.3 20 | |
LC Class | Q335 .P415 1989 |
Followed by | Shadows of the Mind |
Penrose argues that human consciousness is non-algorithmic, and thus is not capable of being modeled by a conventional Turing machine, which includes a digital computer. Penrose hypothesizes that quantum mechanics plays an essential role in the understanding of human consciousness. The collapse of the quantum wavefunction is seen as playing an important role in brain function.
Most of the book is spent reviewing, for the scientifically-minded lay-reader, a plethora of interrelated subjects such as Newtonian physics, special and general relativity, the philosophy and limitations of mathematics, quantum physics, cosmology, and the nature of time. Penrose intermittently describes how each of these bears on his developing theme: that consciousness is not "algorithmic". Only the later portions of the book address the thesis directly.