Tor Norretranders
The ‘user illusion’ of this groundbreaking book’s title comes from the computer industry and refers to the simplistic mental image most of us have of our PCs. Our consciousness, says Norretranders, is our user illusion of ourselves. In any given second, we consciously process only sixteen of the eleven million bits of information our senses pass on to our brains. Real communication consists of the vast amount of information that’s left out – what the author calls ‘exformation’ – not the miniscule percentage that’s left in. Drawing on scientific research from psychology and biology to physics and computer science, Norretranders makes a compelling case for putting consciousness in perspective.
‘Finally a book that really does explain consciousness. And what a marvelous story it is, too, told with style, grace, humour, and intelligence. Your view of consciousness will never be the same after you’ve gone on the tour of the mind and spirit given here. If you’re only going to read one book on consciousness, make it this one.’ John L Casti, author of The Cambridge Quintet
‘Building on wonderfully rich and fascinating ideas… Norretranders works up to his main thesis, that consciousness is in essence a hoax, an illusion.’ Douglas Hoffstadter
‘A gripping description of how our brains fool us into thinking we are conscious – and why even the feeling that there is an us to be fooled is an illusion. Goodbye to the “I” inside – hello to something far greater.’ Ian Stewart, author of Does God Play Dice?
‘This book integrates key concepts from a variety of disciplines to demonstrate the limits of consciousness… [Norretranders] incorporates a rich array of ideas from chaos theory to subliminal perception. He has a remarkable ability to engage and guide the reader through a series of complex, challenging concepts and to render his conclusions both reasonable and convincing.’ Library Journal
Sales
- Gyldendal Denmark
- Penguin Putnam USA
- Kinokuniya Japan
Previously published by - Allen Lane UK
- Rowohlt Germany
- Cappelen Norway
- Bonnier Sweden
- De Arbeiderspers NL
- Editura Publica Romania