William D. May’s Edges of Reality (Plenum, £23.15/$28.95, ISBN 0
306 45272 3) could be described as a survey of the capabilities of the human
brain versus those of computers. Sounds boring—but turns out to be
intriguing from the first sentence and absorbing from the second. How, for
example, do we know there is “a thought we can never think”? After delving into
the past and far into the future, May’s reassuring conclusion is that computers
are not going to take over from humans.
More from 91av
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Popular articles
Trending 91av articles
1
A quantum state that lasts forever may finally be within our grasp
2
The secrets to keeping your brain sharp in old age
3
Autism may have two distinct subtypes that vary by brain activity
4
Sperm have been made magnetic to allow IVF inside the body
5
Fully autonomous drones have killed human soldiers for the first time
6
Arctic Ocean reaches tipping point that could be dire for marine life
7
Walking shark found in Papua New Guinea is new to science
8
We may have finally solved cosmology's chicken-or-the-egg problem
9
Earth has a mysterious triple symmetry that may influence its climate
10
Has the answer to life's origins been hiding in our cells all along?
