A brilliant new theory of the mind that upends our understanding of
how the brain interacts with the world
"This thoroughly readable book will convince you that the brain and
the world are partners in constructing our understanding." --Sean
Carroll, New York Times bestselling author of The Biggest Ideas in
the Universe: Space, Time, and Motion
For as long as we've studied human cognition, we've believed that our
senses give us direct access to the world. What we see is what's really
there--or so the thinking goes. But new discoveries in neuroscience and
psychology have turned this assumption on its head. What if rather than
perceiving reality passively, your mind actively predicts it?
Widely acclaimed philosopher and cognitive scientist Andy Clark unpacks
this provocative new theory that the brain is a powerful, dynamic
prediction engine, mediating our experience of both body and world. From
the most mundane experiences to the most sublime, reality as we know it
is the complex synthesis of sensory information and expectation.
Exploring its fascinating mechanics and remarkable implications for our
lives, mental health, and society, Clark nimbly illustrates how the
predictive brain sculpts all human experience. Chronic pain and mental
illness are shown to involve subtle malfunctions of our unconscious
predictions, pointing the way towards more effective, targeted
treatments. Under renewed scrutiny, the very boundary between ourselves
and the outside world dissolves, showing that we are as entangled with
our environments as we are with our onboard memories, thoughts, and
feelings. And perception itself is revealed to be something of a
controlled hallucination.
Unveiling the extraordinary explanatory power of the predictive brain,
The Experience Machine is a mesmerizing window onto one of the most
significant developments in our understanding of the mind.
