The Physics of Consciousness: The Quantum Mind and the Meaning of Life

A Gem...

I agree with the previous reviewer.. Far more than other authors, he actually comes closer to actually giving plausible and eye-opening answers, instead of vague speculation posing as 'proof'. He presents an intriquing and compelling theory, gives us some solid background to support the theory, with the idea that it needs development as any fledging scientific concept does.. He doesn't pretend or claim to pretend that this theory has been proven or that everything is all wrapped up with a bow, as other authors do, which strikes me as marking him as a more serious scientist. A very mind-opening book for anyone interested in the quantum world and how it relates to us.. Also touches you on an emotional level, as it is personal story and not a dry intellectual discourse.. I'd very much like to see him write a follow up book..

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

An exceptional, historic book

There are so many books out there that presume to explain consciousness but, really, do not even begin to scratch the surface. Dennett's 'Consciousness Explained'- a somewhat pretentious title for a book that does nothing of the kind- and such spring readily to mind. Reading Walker's book is an epiphanic experience. There are two things that any reasonable explanation of the mind and consciousness MUST necessarily contain to be credible: 1- Quantum Physics, the most successful and powerfully explanatory yet astonishing science ever. Any fundamental theory or explanation of consciousness that would not convincingly include and involve Quantum Physics at a logical and intimate level would be highly suspect - it would not have the ring of ultimate truth, since such a profound theme should by necessity avail itself of the deepest-going means of analysis that we have at our disposal/ read exist. Second - numbers. Verbose talk and 4-syllable words are cheap, but numbers do talk and have a way of being incontrovertible. Walker's book includes both. And very, very convincingly. The first half of the book is a bit slow and in some key parts not very well written. Walker's explanation of Bell's inequality and theorem can be found elsewhere, better exposed. But the second half of the book is pure, glittering gold. Whoever reads this second half enters the realm of convincing, intelligent, trail-blazing science. They will be made privy to an explanation that has eluded mankind and all of conscious life throughout history. Until now. Yes. It is that Earth-shaking. It is a pity that this book is not better known and/or not more aggressively marketed. It constitutes a giant step in mankind's intelligent understanding of consciousness. It should be obligatory reading for the normal educated homo sapiens of the early 21st century. It should also serve as the basis upon which to further elaborate and refine the science of consciousness. It provides a simple pathway to determining how conscious animals may actually be, how we can at long last integrate intelligently the universe, mankind, some spirituality, and much much more besides. I weep when I see the kind of access and public exposure that mediocre, simplistic, or downright cretinic orators may attain in our society, and how exceptional contributions such as Walker's book remain largely unknown. Do yourself a favor: read this book.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Most compelling!

Philosophers, physicists, students and scholars of all calibers can enjoy this work. Well written and very interestingly organized and presented.

Overated and tedious

I have read better books on this type of subject by authors who could write for educated people, but novice to this subject. I E Paul Davies, Brian Greene and Michio Kaku. The first 150 pages could have been eliminated or condensed. A bit let down, but an ok read. I will go back to the other authors for new thought.

Truth is coming of age.

This book has brought me to one of the most contented times in my life. Of course it is probably just a personal, non-relatable moment of joy, but I will try to share it anyway. It has been about 21 years since my enlightenment when I wrote¿ ¿There is no space and time¿no cause and effect---no birth or death---that all form is a thought in the consciousness of one that is continually being `thunk¿ that gives the appearance of time and space, cause and effect,¿ and that ¿our consciousness is that consciousness thinking this form. It¿s all an Illusion.¿ And I said that when we leave form, we retain ¿a witness capability¿ and ¿our will.¿ I have built my life around those experiences, and I cannot tell you in full the difficulties I have gone through and the rejections I have had to accept almost daily over all those years, at times almost costing my freedom and life. But science has finally been forced into theoretical agreement with every aspect of what I have experienced. This book presents the issues, and if this knowledge is projected into the future as a common understanding by all people¿imagine. The Truth is coming out. I can finally rest a little. I will mention that anything worthwhile usually takes some work, and I believe this book may fall into that category for most people. But stick with it¿don¿t give up¿it all pulls together in the end and will be well worth your effort, I¿m sure.

Finally some answers!

This exceptional book will leave you absolutely speechless. Everything you want to say is done for you. Evan Walker does a wonderful job capturing the reader's attention and curiosity. If you've been asking yourself questions about life, reality or your mere existence, STOP! You have found the answers to your questions. This author digs deep within his soul to share his personal experiences relating to the perplexity of life here on Earth and beyond. You will not want to put the book down. Enjoy!

The nature of reality

This is a trail-blazing book, and the corny subtitle should by no means be held against it. Despite (or rather, because of?) the author's own Zen training, the book is firmly based on physical arguments rather than mystical/philosophical ones. The book begins to plug a gaping hole in our current science-based understanding of physical reality. The hole in question is the exclusion of consciousness from the description of physical reality. Although philosophically laughable, the notion that the deepest aspects of physical reality can be described without ever speaking about the entity doing the description has dominated science and acted as a straitjacket that confined scientific thought for far too long. Instead, the book shows that reality cannot be understood without consciousness, or indeed, that reality and consciousness are ultimately the same thing. As Eddington put it, "the stuff of the world is mind-stuff". But this book goes much further than Eddington did in proving this assertion, or, if not quite yet proving, at least providing us with mechanisms and falsifiable assertions to investigate it as a hypothesis. Quite possibly among the ten books of the century. One can only hope that other scientists will pick up the trail. The potential for fruitful investigation is vast, and the promise is for nothing less than a complete revolution in our understanding of reality.

A must read for the inquisitive

There are two different aspects to this book; the physics and then the author's personal life that gives those less interested in physics a reason to keep reading. I personally believe that he could have tied things up a little better than he did in relating the two at the end. But that does not even begin to take away from the purpose of this book. Like what was said in previous reviews, the other theories on quantum mechanics can be found better explained elsewhere, but when Walker begins to explain his interpretation hold on to your seat. All other interpretations of quantum mechanics are so vague that the reason they are still around is because there is no way to test and dispute their validity and those who proposed these explanations gave no suggestions as to where to start to dispute it. Walker does just the opposite. Not only does he give a very plausible explanation to our understanding and interpretation of quantum activities, he also begins to tell us how we can go about testing his hypothesis. I personally believe that if there is to be a breakthrough in the understanding of quantum physics it will be toward his perspective. We can only measure that for which we perceive through our five senses and this is where our consciousness dictates our reality. There must be a further understanding of ourselves before we can understand the Universe in which we place ourselves.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.