A leading danish science writer argues that our conscious mental processes are only the surface aspect of the mind. Cutting consciousness down to size danish science journalist tor norretranders presents a scientifically sound and intellectually stimulating theory of conscious experience. The title of this book is the user illusion and it was written by tor norretranders. Thus, we live in an illusion while spouting the belief that were rational. In a december 2001 nature letter nature 414, 302 305, illusory perceptions of space and time preserve crosssaccadic perceptual continuity, another experiment showing that our unconscious gives us delayed and edited information confirms that we exist in a user illusion. Open library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published.
Richard tor norretranders is denmarks leading science writer with a track record of best sellers. He introduced the idea of exformation in this book. Cutting consciousness down to size 1 the wrong place 1 thinking. Its a warning about the uses and abuses of illusion. These are some of the fundamental questions that the audio version of the illusion of us will attempt to answer as we redefine reality in chapter 1. We live in a user interface with limited senses that mask the true nature of reality. Set in the late 1980s, the story is written from the perspective of david zimmer, a university professor who, after losing his wife and children in a plane crash, falls into. I am happy to now offer my final thoughts on the subject in the form of a short book, free will, that can. Cutting consciousness down to size, the danish science writer tor norretranders uses the story to launch an allout assault on the worshipful place. The user illusion, by tor norretranders nehrlichthe user illusion, by tor norretranders norretranders is a danish science journalist, who attempts to tie together the results of several scientists into an.
The user illusion intrigued me with its title first and but the further i went to its rabid hole, the more it addressed of my questions. I have since received hundreds of questions and comments from readers and learned just where the sticking points were in my original arguments. Five stars for the beginning and the end of the book. Cutting consciousness down to size by tor norretranders the fact is that every single second, millions of bits of information flood in through our senses. Cutting consciousness down to size danish science journalist tor norretranders presents a scientifically sound and intellectually.
The user is interested only in what the user illusion presents. According to tor norretranders book the user illusion, we live in the grip of the intriguing predicament that our unconscious mind is in charge of deciding what to make us consciously aware of. He introduced the notion of exformation explicitly discarded information in his book the user illusion. The book cover archive, for the appreciation and categorization of excellence in book cover design. The subconscious mind is an incredible resource, and yet we cant manage to directly control it with our conscious mind. Cutting consciousness down to size penguin press science and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Some philosophers of mind have argued that consciousness is a form of user illusion. Cutting consciousness down to size and the generous man. The book of illusions is a novel by american writer paul auster, published in 2002. Open daisys can be read by anyone in the world on many. It took a century for scientists to realize fully what was wrong with this picture.
The paradox is that our mind knows more than our consciousness does. The user illusion refers to a computer users idea of how the computer works based on how they interact with it. Help us create the kind of literary community youve always dreamed of. His bestknown books are on consciousness the user illusion, 1999 and creativity the generous man, 2005, but he has dealt with many other issues such as network technology, the environment. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Book of magicshadowsspells grimoire magic tome spellbook capabilities.
Cutting consciousness down to size by tor norretranders online at alibris. It is aimed at readers who wish to explore the philosophical and scientific arguments for free will skepticism and their implications. Millions and millions of bits are condensed to a conscious experience that. The main concept that tor norretranders introduces in the book is the idea of exformation. This groundbreaking work by denmarks leading science writer draws on psychology, evolutionary biology, information theory, and other disciplines to argue its revolutionary point.
There is selfdeception on the part of consciousness the user illusion of the title. Exploring the illusion of free will and moral responsibility is an edited collection of new essays by an internationally recognized lineup of contributors. This is a quirky but substantial book by a science writer. This notion is explored by tor norretranders in his 1991 danish book m. Tor norretranders is a danish writer, speaker, thinker, and selfidentified science storyteller who writes with a sophistication rarely seen in popular science writing new york times. Pdf the user illusion download full pdf book download. The user illusion was obviously not written in the interests of the average wheel of fortune viewer, but beyond the book s grand foray into consciousness lies a. The user illusion, by tor norretranders norretranders is a danish science journalist, who attempts to tie together the results of several scientists into an explanation of how consciousness works. He defines exformation as the mental work we do in order to make what we want to say sayable. I briefly discussed the illusion of free will in both the end of faith and the moral landscape. Cutting consciousness down to size, science journalist tor norretranders if not the intellect, consciousness, then. The user illusion of this groundbreaking books title comes from the computer industry and refers to the simplistic mental image most of us have of our pcs. Minnesota book awards livestream ceremony artscape gao hong on canceled concerts and improvisation.
The one that i remember the most is 3d image foil stickers of various critters in a book similar to what some credit cards have. Cutting consciousness down to size penguin press science book is not really ordinary book, you have it then the world is in your hands. The book is a bit too long because of some side branches that have little relevance to the main theme. Nrretranders begins with a history of information theory, leading up to a.
Getting the design right and the right design 1 the art of interactive design 1 the collected writings of robert smithson 1 the creative habit 1 the design of everyday things 1 the image 1 the street of crocodiles 2 the user illusion. User illusion wikipedia, the free encyclopedia the user illusion is the illusion created for the user by a humancomputer interface, for example the visual metaphor of a desktop used in many graphical user interfaces. But the meaning and personal interpretation of your perceptions make your own reality. The user illusion by tor norretranders, 1998, viking edition, in english the user illusion 1998 edition open library. I was suggesting that you will quickly grasp the perception mechanism of the brain, but you can spend a lifetime to study reality, which is a more philosophical question. Our consciousness, says nrretranders, is our user illusion of ourselves.
Tor norretranders is a danish author of popular science. Petersen, in his book, maps of meaning, puts it like this, the modern mind, which regards itself as having transcended the domain of the magical, is nonetheless still endlessly capable of irrational reactions. The user illusion as my colleagues and i called it at the xerox palo alto research center, is the simplified myth everyone builds to explain and make guesses about the systems actions and what should be done next. Cutting consciousness down to size penguin press science new edition by norretranders, tor isbn. How helping others is the sexiest thing you can do.
Consciousness is the key to exploration of reality. Philosopher daniel dennett has also embraced the view that human consciousness is a userillusion. The first sneak peek at hilary mantels the mirror and the light. The user can use magic books to access various powers, which can come from the things written in the books or the same user using the book as a source of energy. Considerable parts of the book are devoted to introduction of thermodynamics maxwells demon, information theory, godels incompleteness theorem and turings undecidability theorem. It was nominated for the international dublin literary award in 2004. The internet archive is proud to be distributing over 1 million books free in a format called daisy, designed for those of us who find it challenging to use regular printed media there are two types of daisys on open library. About the user illusion as john casti wrote, finally, a book that really does explain consciousness.