Informative and well presented

Not as I had expected however I found it interesting and well presented overall so did stick with it until the end. I liked it gave examples and explained each concept although I don't whole heartedly agree with them all it did give me food for thought and broader thinking which is a win in itself. I would recommend this book as it's a good piece for consideration and worth more than one listen to perhaps fully appreciate it

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fascinating

beautifully read by the author, very interesting concepts about our self-illusions which will be helpful in everyday life and give us a greater understanding of human psychology.

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4 people found this helpful

it starts slow

A couple of times at the beginning of this book I found it a little bit dull but it steadily got much more interesting definitely worth a read.

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Beautifully read and utterly fascinating!

Utterly fascinating and educational in understanding and learning of the self and it's impact on self awareness of the mind and what it is like to be alive in an interesting epoc in human history. Exceptionally narrated by the author, it is easy to listen to and very well read. Will be going back to listen to this again to refresh what I have learned.

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Really good listen

Well narrated & great content. Gives great insight into how the mind works. Highly recommend this book/audio book.

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A profound book on a complex topic

It explores a theme that I have been interested in, and have read a few books of this genre (most notably books like 'Sapiens', 'Predictably Irrational' and 'Thinking, Fast and Slow'). This book dives straight in to the latest scientific thinking on what constitutes an individual’s ‘self’ and shares research and experiments by the foremost experts in this field. While I have read many of the examples narrated here in other books, the author strings them together in a coherent way to make the passages stimulating.

The book is filled with insights and, in equal measure, imponderables. For anyone who likes to question the mysteries of the universe and the meaning of life, this is a great place to start. It is packed with powerful statements (which are then explored in detail) such as this quote by Isaac Bashevis Singer: “We must believe in free will. We have no choice.”
Or this one: “I am not who you think I am or who I think I am. I am who I think you think I am.”
Or indeed this one: “Our identity is the sum of our memories, but it turns out that memories are fluid, modified by context and sometimes simply confabulated. This means we cannot trust them, and our sense of self is compromised. Note how this leaves us with a glaring paradox—without a sense of self, memories have no meaning, and yet the self is a product of our memories.”

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9 people found this helpful

Cures insomnia.

Perfect bedtime book. Better than counting sheep. Could work indefinitely but there must be others to try.

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Patchy and erratic

Contains plenty of useful information but the argument rambles and contradicts itself. Having raised the hard problem the author spends much of the remainder of the book stating that the brain generates our experience. In spite of the metaphysical confusion the information presented makes its own case, though.

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5 people found this helpful

interesting

very interesting. well narrated. the content gave me food for thought. I will listen again to elicit greater understanding.

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Very easy to understand

Very easy to understand. Narration was good by the actual author. Some new information regarding the "self" which I found interesting. A good into ducting to a fainting subject.

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