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92 reviews for:
The Case Against Reality: Why Evolution Hid the Truth from Our Eyes
Donald D. Hoffman
3.7 AVERAGE
92 reviews for:
The Case Against Reality: Why Evolution Hid the Truth from Our Eyes
Donald D. Hoffman
3.7 AVERAGE
On first reading I was extremely impressed but I now think overly impressed. The book is worth reading and has insights into the application of evolutionary game theory to perception mechanisms.
It provides good evidence that reality is not always as we perceive it. That is not surprising or original but less dramatic than claiming a case against reality.
It provides good evidence that reality is not always as we perceive it. That is not surprising or original but less dramatic than claiming a case against reality.
informative
slow-paced
Fui ao engano com este livro. Esperava uma dissertação sobre o porquê de a mente humana, nas suas infinitas limitações, não conseguir percecionar a realidade na sua plenitude, mas o que Hoffman defende neste livro é, na verdade, o oposto: a mente humana não perceciona a realidade objetiva como ela é em resultado da evolução e da seleção natural. Ou seja, o ser humano, para conseguir sobreviver, vê aquilo que precisa de ver, e o que não vê é como se não existisse, porque não interessa à sua sobrevivência.
Portanto, em vez de perceber o que é que existe que a mente humana não vê, aprendi que, na verdade, aquilo que vemos até pode nem existir tal como o vemos, não passando de uma fabricação da nossa mente, produto da evolução.
O problema de Hoffman é que, a bem dizer, ele não fundamenta a sua teoria lá muito bem. Vai buscar a biogenética, a matemática e até a física quântica, mas repete-se muito e acaba por dificultar a leitura.
Não é um livro fácil de assimilar para mentes pouco científicas como a minha. Definitivamente, não é uma leitura de verão e baralha mais do que elucida, mas a verdade é que me deixou a pensar na realidade de outra forma.
Portanto, em vez de perceber o que é que existe que a mente humana não vê, aprendi que, na verdade, aquilo que vemos até pode nem existir tal como o vemos, não passando de uma fabricação da nossa mente, produto da evolução.
O problema de Hoffman é que, a bem dizer, ele não fundamenta a sua teoria lá muito bem. Vai buscar a biogenética, a matemática e até a física quântica, mas repete-se muito e acaba por dificultar a leitura.
Não é um livro fácil de assimilar para mentes pouco científicas como a minha. Definitivamente, não é uma leitura de verão e baralha mais do que elucida, mas a verdade é que me deixou a pensar na realidade de outra forma.
informative
slow-paced
challenging
informative
slow-paced
Overall, I’m glad I read this book. It’s the first book in a while that has fundamentally changed how I perceive the world around me and take for granted that objects exist in an objective “reality.” I know our brains make a lot of mistakes in perception because evolution has favored cognitive shortcuts to the benefit of survival, but I had not really considered that things I “see” might not actually exist as I see them.
The major con for me here is that this book will not reach many people because it is not accessible. I have a PhD in biological anthropology, and have a strong background in science. I read books on the origins of the universe & matter for fun. I am an academic lecturer. But even I struggled with this book at several points. There were excellent examples and figures that helped explain concepts here and there, but at many points, the jargon level would lead many to DNF. But perhaps that’s a hazard of the content?
The major con for me here is that this book will not reach many people because it is not accessible. I have a PhD in biological anthropology, and have a strong background in science. I read books on the origins of the universe & matter for fun. I am an academic lecturer. But even I struggled with this book at several points. There were excellent examples and figures that helped explain concepts here and there, but at many points, the jargon level would lead many to DNF. But perhaps that’s a hazard of the content?
slow-paced
The interface theory of perception (ITP) that Hoffman proposes here says that we do not perceive reality but instead everything is an icon indicating evolutionary fitness payoffs.
The weak version of Hoffman’s claim is interesting but obviously true: that sense perception does not account for the unperceived aspects of reality and additionally that our senses distort what we perceive so that we are attracted towards payoffs in the environment.
But the strong version (to paraphrase Einstein, that the moon is not there when no-one is looking at it) is preposterous. To make such a claim believable would require evidence and an alternate theory about what reality is, but Hoffman only says that spacetime is not fundamental and we cannot know what is really there. This was dissatisfying as an explanation and the book was repetitive, so I was unconvinced and I disliked it.
The weak version of Hoffman’s claim is interesting but obviously true: that sense perception does not account for the unperceived aspects of reality and additionally that our senses distort what we perceive so that we are attracted towards payoffs in the environment.
But the strong version (to paraphrase Einstein, that the moon is not there when no-one is looking at it) is preposterous. To make such a claim believable would require evidence and an alternate theory about what reality is, but Hoffman only says that spacetime is not fundamental and we cannot know what is really there. This was dissatisfying as an explanation and the book was repetitive, so I was unconvinced and I disliked it.
This is an important book written by someone with an interesting background. Ordinarily, you wouldn't expect a cognitive scientist assail the very foundations of their own field of study, but that's exactly what Hoffman does. He carefully makes the case that our thinking of what constitutes "reality" is seriously hobbled by the fact that the concepts of "space and time" no longer provide bona fide reference points for investigating reality.
Using insights from fields as divergent as evolutionary biology, brain science, and quantum physics, the author develops what he terms Interface Theory of Perception. This theory states that our sensate, i.e., physical, experience of the world is shaped by a universal principle that maximizes evolutionary fitness and thereby hides the workings behind the "user interface" that is our day-to-day experience.
Besides providing ample evidence for how our senses are tailored to fitness rather than observing the true state of affairs, Hoffman's seriously dings our common assumption that there's a world "out there." He provides an arresting description of an experiment revealing that a decision how to observe a photon whose journey from a quasar began >10 billion years influences the photon's state (as a particle or wave) from the moment it leaves its source.
Since concepts like time and space fail to even make an appearance in this observation, it follows that consciousness is fundamental to the "physical" world, which really is only an illusion created by our interface that lets us interact with contents in our consciousness and those of other agents with whom we share this consciousness.
Hoffman is not a philosopher (though, he refers to some metaphysical ideas developed by Kant); so he doesn't attempt to develop a full-fledged ontological model of consciousness (as some, more overtly idealist authors such as Bernardo Kastrup, have done). Instead, he proposes a mathematical description of interacting "conscious agents," which seems a little opaque (for starters, it's not clear what qualifies as a conscious agent). I found this proposal less convincing than the idea of "mind at large," put forth as a model by Kastrup, but Hoffman clearly acknowledges that his sketch is just meant as a starting point to correct the materialist view that places physicalism at the centre from which the world (and consciousness) emerge.
A very worthwhile read--it's going to be interesting to see whether others will take this call back to the drawing board seriously.
Using insights from fields as divergent as evolutionary biology, brain science, and quantum physics, the author develops what he terms Interface Theory of Perception. This theory states that our sensate, i.e., physical, experience of the world is shaped by a universal principle that maximizes evolutionary fitness and thereby hides the workings behind the "user interface" that is our day-to-day experience.
Besides providing ample evidence for how our senses are tailored to fitness rather than observing the true state of affairs, Hoffman's seriously dings our common assumption that there's a world "out there." He provides an arresting description of an experiment revealing that a decision how to observe a photon whose journey from a quasar began >10 billion years influences the photon's state (as a particle or wave) from the moment it leaves its source.
Since concepts like time and space fail to even make an appearance in this observation, it follows that consciousness is fundamental to the "physical" world, which really is only an illusion created by our interface that lets us interact with contents in our consciousness and those of other agents with whom we share this consciousness.
Hoffman is not a philosopher (though, he refers to some metaphysical ideas developed by Kant); so he doesn't attempt to develop a full-fledged ontological model of consciousness (as some, more overtly idealist authors such as Bernardo Kastrup, have done). Instead, he proposes a mathematical description of interacting "conscious agents," which seems a little opaque (for starters, it's not clear what qualifies as a conscious agent). I found this proposal less convincing than the idea of "mind at large," put forth as a model by Kastrup, but Hoffman clearly acknowledges that his sketch is just meant as a starting point to correct the materialist view that places physicalism at the centre from which the world (and consciousness) emerge.
A very worthwhile read--it's going to be interesting to see whether others will take this call back to the drawing board seriously.
The central idea that the 'reality' we perceive is a user interface generated by our consciousness is interesting. The structure of the book is odd - in some chapters Hoffman seems more interested in talking about the consequences of this for the marketing departments of US businesses, and shamelessly offering his services to them, rather than directly exploring his ambitious premise. Final chapter is a hot mess of wild speculation.
The duality of our consciousness set by the brain hemispheres really puts the expression "we all live two lives" into an exciting perspective. Hoffman is onto something. So is Woody Allen, with the 'stake dinner' statement.