Roger Penrose
2016-04-28
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.
Roger Penrose, in 'The Emperor's New Mind', presents a formidable challenge to the orthodoxy of computational models of mind. Through his deep understanding of quantum mechanics and general relativity, Penrose postulates a novel dimension to human cognition that transcends algorithmic processing. This work aligns with my own conviction in the primacy of human reason and the ineffable quality of conscious thought, a notion that contemporary reductionism fails to capture. His argument, though complex and demanding, is a robust defense of human exceptionalism and the supremacy of mind over machine.
