The Large, the Small and the Human Mind

Description

Roger Penrose's views on the large-scale physics of the Universe, the small-scale world of quantum physics and the physics of the mind are controversial and widely discussed. This book is a fascinating and accessible summary of Roger Penrose's current thinking on those areas of physics in which he feels there are major unresolved problems. It is also a stimulating introduction to the radically new concepts that he believes will be fruitful in understanding the workings of the brain and the nature of the human mind. Cover Title Page Copyright Contents Notes on the Contributors Picture Credits Foreword by Malcolm Longair 1. Space-time and Cosmology 2. The Mysteries of Quantum Physics 3. Physics and the Mind 4. On Mentality, Quantum Mechanics and the Actualization of Potentialities (Abner Shimony) 5. Why Physics? (Nancy Cartwright) 6. The Objections of an Unashamed Reductionist (Stephen Hawking) 7. Roger Penrose Responds Appendix 1: Goodstein's Theorem and Mathematical Thinking Appendix 2: Experiments to Test Gravitationally Induced State Reduction