Other Titles > Neuropath
Read This Book
What Came Before:
--- Quote from: Jorge ---The vast majority of us know Scott from his fantasy writing, but Neuropath is on another level. Yeah, there are no dragons, sorcery or crazy Dunyain monks teleporting around but there are two main reasons to read it:
1. The book deeply explores the issues raised by the ongoing neuroscience revolution. It expounds Bakker's three central theories regarding its social impact:
a. Neuroscience may allow us to empirically gain traction on philosophical problems that have remained elusive since the time of the ancient Greeks (free will, dualism, teleology, etc).
b. Neuroscience can be very easily abused to torture, spy, and control.
c. A process started in the Enlightment is revealing a world absolutely devoid of meaning, and the repercussions of following the road are essentially unknowable and deeply troubling.
2. It serves as a partial 'cheat sheet' to the philosophy of The Second Apocalypse (particularly the Prince of Nothing trilogy).
I really loved this book. It's not flawless, but it would make one hell of a psychological thriller if it ever got made into a movie (comparable to Limitless, but with more insanity).
Support Scott! Buy it and read it!
/shill mode off
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What Came Before:
--- Quote from: Callan S. ---Pro tip: You do not need to read the italicised sections, in terms of learning about the story. Feel free to skip them, unless you want the scary. (I feel stupid in that the italicising seemed a kind of flag, but I still went and read them all anyway in case they were story related. Heck, I didn't know italics means you can skip it!)
That is all
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What Came Before:
--- Quote from: jvj ---This novel has literally changed the way I see the world. I usually try to hand copies of it out as gifts for pretty much anyone I know for whom it might be a suitable read. (Born and living in Denmark, so language skills are a pretty big factor in deciding who gets the privilege.) But I always make sure to give a warning with it as a good friend of mine spent a considerable amount of time being sincerely shook up by the possibilities of the (click to show/hide)semantic apocalypse.
But a hearty hello to fellow Neuropath readers. And Jorge, you introduced yourself in another thread as someone who spewed the black sputum of science I believe you called it over on TPB which made me wonder, what do you think of the "scientific validity/viability" of the neuroscientific and psychological elements of the novel?
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What Came Before:
--- Quote from: Jorge ---Predicting the future is hard. The brain is the most complicated system known.
And yet, if you read anything by VS Ramachandran or Oliver Sacks alongside Neuropath, you will immediately begin to see that there is nothing tremendously far-fetched about the science in Scott's story. Our minds are our brains. The brain is increasingly yielding to reductionist analysis and manipulation. Many people are clamoring for neuro-enhancements, and the research dollars go as the market goes.
tl;dr I think Scott's little yarn is a harrowing and accurate portrayal of what the next 50 years may have in store for us.
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What Came Before:
--- Quote from: jvj ---
--- Quote from: Jorge ---Predicting the future is hard. The brain is the most complicated system known.
And yet, if you read anything by VS Ramachandran or Oliver Sacks alongside Neuropath, you will immediately begin to see that there is nothing tremendously far-fetched about the science in Scott's story. Our minds are our brains. The brain is increasingly yielding to reductionist analysis and manipulation. Many people are clamoring for neuro-enhancements, and the research dollars go as the market goes.
tl;dr I think Scott's little yarn is a harrowing and accurate portrayal of what the next 50 years may have in store for us.
--- End quote ---
The man who mistook his wife for a hat is on my to-read list (busy with school reading for now, exams coming up). I've also read Cordelia Pine's A mind of its own, an excellent book on the subject. I'm finishing up a minor in psychology at the time, and while the tendencies mentioned in Neuropath certainly have gained enough traction to warrant mention in a few of the courses I've taken, a somewhat famous experiment with FMRI's and decision-making for instance, the whole subject seems to be shrouded in a pervading sense of un-seriousness for lack of a better word. But that might stem out of a general reluctance to openly accept theories as bold as one essentially claiming we don't have free will, more than anything else.
I find the subject incredibly interesting though, it's nice to have somewhere to discuss it.
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