Re: Books

Bill Hamilton (hamilton@predator.cs.gmr.com)
Thu, 4 Apr 1996 08:25:42 -0500

At 11:35 AM 4/3/96 -0400, Steve Anonsen/GPS wrote:
>I'd like to know if any of the ASA participants have read any of the following
>books and, if so, if you'd recommend them (or consider them a waste of $).
>
>- The Fossil Trail: How We Know What We Think We Know About Human Evolution,
>Ian Tattersall
>- At Home in the Universe, Stuart Kauffman
>- The Emporer's New Mind, Roger Penrose
>- Shadows of the Mind, Roger Penrose
>- Hyperspace:A Scientific Odyssey Through Parallel Universes, Time Warps and
>the Tenth Dimension, Michio Kikau
>
I have read the first half of "Shadows of the mind". The first half makes
a case using Turing-machine- and Goedel- oriented proofs for the
nonmechanizability of intelligence and consciousness. I would recommend a
bit of familiarity with computability concepts to read it, but it's not
bad. The second half deals with Penrose's view of what might constitute a
scientific theory of intelligence and consciousness. I do intend to get
back to that part someday -- after ReMine, after Chilton, after Kauffman
(The origins of order)...

Bill Hamilton | Chassis & Vehicle Systems
GM R&D Center | Warren, MI 48090-9055
810 986 1474 (voice) | 810 986 3003 (FAX)
hamilton@gmr.com (office) | whamilto@mich.com (home)