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A review by rpmiller
The Case Against Reality: Why Evolution Hid the Truth from Our Eyes by Donald D. Hoffman
3.0
The book is probably intended for a more general audience than those of us who are inclined to scientific investigation. There are several examples that amount to hand waving rather than good examples. The most disturbing is the example explaining the proof of the fitness-beats-truth theorem. The choice of the "truth" proposition was arbitrary, and would be trivial if the "truth" used in comparison was the degree of "fitness" rather than mere existence of "stuff". Anyway, the general ideas presented were interesting food for thought.
Interestingly, while he mentions Godel once, he doesn't mention his incompleteness theorem. That idea, and further advancements indicate that we can never prove all true statements, and more generally, no theory will ever fully describe reality (if there is such a thing). One idea I consider regularly is that multiple theories, each with different foundations, might help humans understand both ourselves and reality in ways no single theory can match. An example might be using both the theory of "objective reality" (western science) and that of "conscious realism" (Hoffman) at the same time in order to interpret the nuances missed by each theory. That is a challenge for future consideration. I think the limitations of mathematics and logic also rule out any Theory of Everything (TOE), also mentioned in this book and widely described but yet to be formalized.
I suppose I did enjoy reading this book.
Interestingly, while he mentions Godel once, he doesn't mention his incompleteness theorem. That idea, and further advancements indicate that we can never prove all true statements, and more generally, no theory will ever fully describe reality (if there is such a thing). One idea I consider regularly is that multiple theories, each with different foundations, might help humans understand both ourselves and reality in ways no single theory can match. An example might be using both the theory of "objective reality" (western science) and that of "conscious realism" (Hoffman) at the same time in order to interpret the nuances missed by each theory. That is a challenge for future consideration. I think the limitations of mathematics and logic also rule out any Theory of Everything (TOE), also mentioned in this book and widely described but yet to be formalized.
I suppose I did enjoy reading this book.