This book review was written by Eugene Kernes
“But the sheer number of connections is only one aspect of what makes the brain complex; even if we mapped the wiring of each neuron we would still be far from understanding how the brain works. Unlike the electrical connections in your computer, where wires all communicate using the same signal – electrons – across each of these neural connections, hundreds of different chemicals are passed, each with completely different effects. The simple fact that two neurons connect to each other tells us little about what they are communicating. And worst of all, these connections themselves are in a constant state of change, with some neurons branching out and forming new connections, while others are retracting and removing old ones. Altogether, this makes reverse engineering how the brain works an ungodly task.” – Max Bennett, Introduction, Page 14
“Species fall into different survival niches, each of which
optimizes for different things. Many
niches – in fact, most niches – are better served by smaller and simpler
brains (or no brains at all).
Big-brained apes are the result of a different survival strategy than
that of worms, bacteria, or butterflies.
But none are “better.” In the
eyes of evolution, the hierarchy has only two rungs: on one, there are those
that survived, and on the other, those that did not.” – Max Bennett, Introduction,
Page 23
“This was the breakthrough of steering. It turns out that to successfully navigate in
the complicated world of the ocean floor, you don’t actually need an
understanding of that two-dimensional world.
You don’t need an understanding of where you are, where food is, what
paths you might have to take, how long it might take, or really anything
meaningful about the world. All you need
is a brain that steers a bilateral body toward increasing food smells and away
from decreasing food smells.” – Max Bennett, Chapter 2: The Birth of Good and
Bad, Page 45
Is This An Overview?
The complexity of the brain was developed over time through
the process of evolution. Different
species have their own survival strategies, their own evolutionary niches,
which incorporate various brain sizes, of various complexity, or no brain at
all. What led to human intelligence was
a series of five breakthroughs. The five
breakthroughs were steering, reinforcing, simulating, mentalizing, and
speaking. The development of Artificial
Intelligence, is based on how people have come to understand the brain.
Intelligence first breakthrough was steering. All a brain needed to do was steer a body
toward increasing food smells, and away from decreasing food smells. Steering also enabled the brain to avoid
dangers. Steering developed preferences,
and emotions. Intelligence second
breakthrough was reinforcing. Enabled a
brain to explore the surroundings, to be curious, and learn what could work or
not work. Intelligence third
breakthrough was simulating. Which is
the ability to make predictions, that enabled planning, and to direct attention. Intelligence fourth breakthrough was mentalizing. Learning behaviors based on observations of
others. Learning created demand for
teaching, which is effective only when someone has a theory of mind, a theory
about what information the other has. Intelligence
fifth breakthrough was speaking. Speaking
enabled the accumulation of information.
Caveats?
While there is a lot of content meant for a general
audience, there is some content that requires a more technical background.