Chris Akers

Know what you are getting into

Revisado: 02-16-23

This is an almost poetic exploration of consciousness via 19 metaphoric exercises illustrating the neural correlates of consciousness and Integrated Information Theory among others. If what I just wrote sounds like gobbledygook, you might want to start with Anil Seth or David Eagleman first. This is an interesting attempt at a synthesis, but without more background could be hard going for some readers/listeners.

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A summary of some summaries, but beautifully done

Revisado: 03-05-21

This is a short, succinct and efficient presentation of the most current thinking in Dr. Barrett’s large research community. This will contradict many of the theories about the brain, the body and personhood that we have heard for years and which a large number of writers and researchers are still espousing as we speak.

This book presents these positions in brief form, leaving much of the proof of their arguments to a downloadable appendix and to their outlay in her previous publications. If you aren’t already familiar with the author’s previous book, which was also a summary of her academic publications, then that is a fleshier place to start and this book will require extending the author a modicum of faith. That said, from my perspective it is justified and this is a powerful rundown of the biological underpinnings of our human experience, leaving much room for hope.

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It's own best evidence

Revisado: 07-20-18

Emerson believed that history consists of nothing but biography and this book is the best evidence for that as well as making the case for all the claims that Emerson would make about the potential of art, poetry and writing to enable each person to find within themselves something transcendent.

Mr. Richardson does a really impressive job in weaving together all the strands in a way that alternates between informational and inspirational at just the right interval to draw the reader/listener along through all 100 chapters and be ready to start over. Kudos to Mr. McConnohie at a superb job making this listen as good as it is. I can easily say that of the hundreds of audiobooks I've listened to, this is easily in my top 5 now.

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About time!

Revisado: 05-15-18

I like Carlo Rovelli's voice. His narration of Seven Brief Lessons is very personal and I have no trouble understanding him. When he was replaced as narrator for his next book, Reality Is Not What It Seems, I was disappointed even though that narrator did a fine job. So how did Mr. Cumberbatch do? Listen for yourself. (Of course he nails it!)

As for the content, Time as a subject is hot these days. The nature of time as explored in Physics, Philosophy, Psychology or Cultural Studies is diverse and divisive. If you start to look around, you will find that you can chase that rabbit down a path in each direction you can think of. There are too many to name here. However, I think this particular hole is possibly all most people will need. It digs deep enough into the physics of it, seasons it with a bit of temporal philosophy and presents it poetically. Here is the heart of it: Time matters to those creatures whose very being, or becoming, are made of it.

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Greene deserves better

Revisado: 09-18-16

Brian Greene is a truly gifted writer bringing very important, but difficult, ideas to his audience in a way that makes them easier to grasp. That said, this audiobook is a complete waste of that amazing material. Not only is the narration some of the most off-key of any of the hundreds of audiobooks I've listened to in the last few years, but the production quality is really weird, making it practically unlistenable.

I can only hope (hope, hope hope) that somebody at the publisher has the good sense to do this book justice and have Greene narrate it himself as he did "Hidden Reality." This book deserves it.

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Keeping this on REPEAT for months to come

Revisado: 06-10-16

Any additional comments?

I'm just going to cut to the chase and say that this is my favorite audiobook purchase so far out of the 98 I still have in my library. I phrase it that way as I am very prone to returning audiobooks after their first chapter (thanks, Audible!) if I find the narration unconvincing, too rigid, or just unpleasant in any way. I would rather wait and read it myself than suffer through anything less than a great performance in the narration department.Due to that reason, I gravitate to spending my credits on Great Courses as the lecture style of delivery is more engaging for me. My next favorite would be non-fiction read by the author, from an author that can read well. After that comes everything else. I would put this audiobook in a class by itself. Non-fiction read by the author in a manner every bit as engaging as the best lecturer, but without any asides or distractions and with the luxury of syncing with the written text for reference and reading later.Now that said, the book itself is probably the best attempt to date at making accessible to its audience an understanding of current Cosmology and Theoretical Physics and how they sync with Life Sciences to form a framework for seeing "The Big Picture." No small undertaking, but not since Carl Sagan's original Cosmos series and book has somebody created such a satisfying fusion. It should be noted, however, that this book wades in a bit further to the scientific details than Sagan's popularization did, but Carroll is such a generous guide that unless you aren't interested in learning some new terminology and concepts, it will be an enjoyable swim in deeper waters.

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