The Emperor's New Mind: Concerning Computers, Minds, and the Laws of Physics

by Roger Penrose

Overview

For many decades, the proponents of 'artificial intelligence' have maintained that computers will soon be able to do everything that a human can do. In his bestselling work of popular science, Sir Roger Penrose takes us on a fascinating tour through the basic principles of physics, cosmology, mathematics, and philosophy to show that human thinking can never be emulated by a machine. Oxford Landmark Science books are 'must-read' classics of modern science writing which have crystallized big ideas, and shaped the way we think.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780192550071
Publisher:	OUP Oxford
Publication date:	04/28/2016
Series:	Oxford Landmark Science
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	1,011,670
File size:	25 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Sir Roger Penrose OM FRS is the Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics at the Mathematical Institute of the University of Oxford, as well as an Emeritus Fellow of Wadham College. He is known for his work in mathematical physics, in particular for his contributions to general relativity and cosmology. His books include Shadows Of The Mind (Vintage, 1995); The Road to Reality (Vintage, 2006); and The Nature of Space and Time, co-authored with Stephen Hawking (Princeton University Press, 2015). He has received several prizes and awards, including the 1988 Wolf Prize for physics, which he shared with Stephen Hawking for their contribution to our understanding of the universe. In 2020, Penrose was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on black holes, along with Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez.

Table of Contents

Prologue1. Can a computer have a mind? 2. Algorithms and Turing Machines3. Mathematics and Reality4. Truth, Proof, and Insight5. The Classical World6. Quantum Magic and Quantum Mystery7. Cosmology and the Arrow of Time8. In Search of Quantum Gravity9. Real brains and Model Brains10. Where Lies the Physics of the Mind? Epilogue References Index

Editorial Reviews

"The testament of a brilliant man wrestling desperately—and unashamedly—with the deepest problems of metaphysics —Nature

"Penrose embarks on a sweeping survey of black holes, cosmology and thermodynamics in search of further support. The reader is treated to a tour of much of modern physics before being brought back to the central thesis: that minds must be taken seriously." —Observer

"A pedagogical tour de force, with some dazzling new ways of illuminating the central themes of science." —Times Literary Supplement

"Penrose takes us on perhaps the most engaging and creative tour of modern physics that has ever been written....the reader might feel privileged indeed to accompany Penrose on his magical mystery tour." —Sunday Times

"Will be universally cited by strong AI opponents as the definitive refutation of strong AI....An excellent introduction to the ideas which are involved in the strong AI hypothesis." —Physics World

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