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Being You
- A New Science of Consciousness
- Narrated by: Anil Seth
- Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins
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Being You
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Summary
Anil Seth's radical new theory of consciousness challenges our understanding of perception and reality, doing for brain science what Dawkins did for evolutionary biology.
Being you is not as simple as it sounds. Somehow, within each of our brains, billions of neurons create our everyday conscious experience. But how does this happen? Anil Seth's unique and groundbreaking theory of what it means to 'be you' challenges our understanding of perception and reality, doing for brain science what Dawkins did for evolutionary biology.
Being You is an accessible, inspiring and eye-opening exploration of consciousness by one of the most remarkable pioneers working in science today.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
Critic reviews
"Anil Seth thinks clearly and sharply on one of the hardest problems of science and philosophy, cutting through weeds with a scientist's mind and a storyteller's skill." (Adam Rutherford)
"Seth provokes us to think about thinking...readable, relatable and gripping." (Alex Garland, director of Ex Machina)
"Offers a new cause for astonishment and wonder...a must-read for anyone seeking a better understanding of the brain and how nature sculpts the human experience." (Annaka Harris, author of Conscious)
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- MR
- 13-09-21
A mind bending tour - science of consciousness
Seth explains the complex ideas clearly and lucidly, with layer upon layer building an overarching view of a model of consciousness. Seth takes a look at the monolith of the 'hard problem' of how and why the wet living and thinking brain gives rise to the experience of consciousness and proposes a different question, the 'real problem'. How mechanisms in the brain predict and control consciousness. Probing into the stuff of consciousness all is not what it seems and our perceptions are our brains best guess of what is out there beyond it's bony skull.
Some of these ideas are not new to me and resonate with Buddhist teachings that what we believe to be the self is an illusion. Here we have a scientific theory as to why and how the sense of self is created by systems in the brain.
The fascinating ideas in the book are presented in a way that I'm sure the author has simplified for the layperson but it is still sufficiently complex and detailed to be an intellectual challenge for those amongst us that are not philosophers or scientists and there are ample references for further reading on on the matter.
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27 people found this helpful
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- kate
- 02-09-21
Excellent
I'm not a neuroscientist, psychologist, AI researcher etc but I am hugely interested in all of these fields and read (and listen) to as many books on these topics as possible.
This has immediately shot up to the top of my list of favourite books and will certainly be one I will be recommending loads.
A wonderful, clear and informative book on the current thinking on thinking. And how (and why) we do it, who else does and who potentially could.
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23 people found this helpful
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- S. Hall
- 03-12-21
Just an astounding book.
This is just an astounding book. The first chapter or two were a bit slow but once I realised that this really wasn't a book you could only half listen to and dedicated my attention to it, I was enormously rewarded. Almost every chapter contained moments where you feel your world view is shaken and rearranged. The author takes incredibly hard concepts and allows you to understand them and picture their consequences. I've tried to explain some of this book to friends and family and I can't. It is an incredible skill to make it all make sense.
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10 people found this helpful
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- Helena
- 02-10-21
Impressive
What an excellent book! Engaging, clear, sensible, sensitive, insightful. A book covering consciousness and perception in great breadth and depth. All beautiful read by the author Prof. Anil Seth himself.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Martin Miles
- 12-04-22
Watch TED instead
For the general reader there is far too much in this book. The author appears to have had a working title of "Everything I know about consciousness and related topics". As such, it might make a passable text book (he credits sources and defines terms as he goes along) but, until the last few chapters, definitely left me wanting less.
For someone with a non-academic interest in the subject I feel that Seth's excellent TED talks, and his other talks available on Youtube, cover everything of value in this book.
NB if you are a first year undergraduate in Seth's department I'm sure this book is at the top of your reading list. As such you should obtain either the paperback or kindle versions of it, as you read a textbook from the contents and index pages and not like a novel
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5 people found this helpful
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- lske
- 12-10-21
Very insightful
Wery insightful and changes the way I think of consciousness - I absolutely recomend it👍
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5 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 13-05-22
Great for bedtime
Subject is interesting enough that I happily listen while I am still awake, distracting me from worries, but not too exciting to keep me awake. The narrating is peaceful, drifting to sleep is easy and so staying asleep while sleep timer ticks. Will relisten.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Nigel A.
- 16-10-21
A groundbreaking exposition on consciousness.
A groundbreaking exposition on the consciousness and intelligence of humans and other creatures. Are you a beast machine? Read and find out!
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4 people found this helpful
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- Sinisa Birovljev
- 23-10-21
Superb in every way !
Comprehensive, exeptionaly founded, focused jet deelpy human and with excellent narration! Loved it !
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3 people found this helpful
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- nabil chouba
- 21-07-22
Amazing
Woking on machine learning software
Really liked the book
- the fact that we predict and compare with sensory, this elegant way to implement model our environment
- brain work with best guess and all is prediction where the brain builds whatever we think is good for survival. It’s all hallucination …
- emotion is control way to stabilise the body’s vital system and future survival
- there is no freewill it’s all nonsense
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2 people found this helpful
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- William M. Raike
- 01-08-23
Unforgettable
The book was gripping, and immediately corrected my mistaken view that nothing significant in the field had been done in the past 20 years. The presentation was careful and methodical but clear, literate and compelling. And above all reflecting the author's scientific experience while requiring no specific scientific background but never resorting to vague descriptions. I hold a doctorate in applied mathematics but have not until now been fascinated by neuroscience and a study of what consciousness is all about. I would love to have one-on-one discussions with Prof. Seth hoping that I might be able to offer specific ideas or suggestions. I recommend the book to anyone with a keen and curious intellect!
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- Leonhard Meyer
- 27-05-23
Fascinating!!
Well written and just an endlessly fascinating topic. Only part 2 about perception is a bit less interesting. Still Highly recommended!
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- Anonymous User
- 02-05-22
Extraordinary!!
Extensive framework and theory/models of consciousness that I cannot recommend enough. Well f**king done Anil!
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- Kokilan A
- 13-03-22
Great book on a very imp topic!
This is the best book I've yet read in the topic of consciousness. Wealth of information. The foundations and the main theories are excellently explained. I'm having a fascinating intellectual journey with the concepts. After finishing the audiobook, I often try to observe my consciousness, perceived reality, thoughts and emotions, as well as others' through these paradigms! The theater of conscious self and agency is very strong, complex, mysterious and wonderful! Great work Anil Seth!
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- Kindle Customer
- 31-01-22
Enlighting
The model of beast machine really opened new horizons for me. It is both an eye opener and gives a deeper meaning of being human and consciousness
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- HADAR LEVI
- 01-01-22
Very interesting book and theory
Seth is one of the leading researchers in consciousness studies and outlines here his theory of consciousness. As a researcher in a related field it was very interesting for me to hear about his ideas and theory, however not sure how easy to follow it would be (at least at some points), and to understand the depths of it, if it's the first book anyone reads on the topic. His personal stories are described skillfully and nicely demonstrate some of the ideas presented. Overall it was a very interesting read that made me want to learn more about his theory.
Also, Seth does an excellent job in narrating his book.
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- Anonymous User
- 21-09-21
The power of the predictive processing explained
A seminal work of how the brain interacts with body and world to create us.
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