The Emperor's New Mind

Concerning Computers, Minds, and the Laws of Physics

Roger Penrose

The Emperor's New Mind

Concerning Computers, Minds, and the Laws of Physics

Roger Penrose

ISBN:

9780198784920

Binding:

Paperback

Published:

20 Apr 2016

Availability:

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Series:

$28.95 AUD

$32.99 NZD

Description

For many decades, the proponents of `artificial intelligence' have maintained that computers will soon be able to do everything that a human can do. In his bestselling work of popular science, Sir Roger Penrose takes us on a fascinating tour through the basic principles of physics, cosmology, mathematics, and philosophy to show that human thinking can never be emulated by a machine.

Oxford Landmark Science books are 'must-read' classics of modern science writing which have crystallised big ideas, and shaped the way we think.

Contents

Prologue
1: Can a Computer Have a Mind?
2: Algorithms and Turing Machines
3: Mathematics and Reality
4: Truth, Proof, and Insight
5: The Classical World
6: Quantum Magic and Quantum Mystery
7: Cosmology and the Arrow of Time
8:  In Search of Quantum Gravity
9: Real Brains and Model Brains
10: Where Lies the Physics of the Mind?
Epilogue
References
Index

Authors

Roger Penrose, University of  Oxford

Sir Roger Penrose OM FRS is the Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics at the Mathematical Institute of the University of Oxford, as well as an Emeritus Fellow of Wadham College. He is known for his work in mathematical physics, in particular for his contributions to general relativity and cosmology. His books include Shadows Of The Mind (Vintage, 1995); The Road to Reality (Vintage, 2006); and The Nature of Space and Time, co-authored with Stephen Hawking (Princeton University Press, 2015). He has received several prizes and awards, including the 1988 Wolf Prize for physics, which he shared with Stephen Hawking for their contribution to our understanding of the universe.

Reviews

`perhaps the most engaging and creative tour of modern physics that has ever been written' -- Sunday Times

`A superb book... provocative and absorbing' -- Physics Today

`A bold, brilliant, groundbreaking work... When Mr Penrose talks, scientists listen' -- New York Times Book Review

`. . One cannot imagine a more revealing self-portrait than this enchanting, tantalising book... Roger Penrose reveals himself as an eloquent protagonist, not only of the wonders of mathematics, but also of the uniqueness of people.' -- Nature

`I fail to see how anybody can remain unmoved by the book's central theme, which concerns the nature of human beings... His style is relaxed and entertaining, There are nuggets on almost every page.' -- Financial Times