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Being You

A New Science of Consciousness

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Being You

By: Anil Seth
Narrated by: Anil Seth
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A GUARDIAN, ECONOMIST, NEW STATESMAN, FINANCIAL TIMES AND BLOOMBERG BOOK OF THE YEAR

'I loved it.' MICHAEL POLLAN
'Fascinating.' FINANCIAL TIMES
'Awe-inspring.' NEW STATESMAN
'Brilliant.' CLAIRE TOMALIN, NEW YORK TIMES
'A brilliant beast of a book.' DAVID BYRNE
'Hugely important.' JIM AL-KHALILI
'Gripping.' ALEX GARLAND
'Masterly . . . Vast-ranging, phenomenal.' GAIA VINCE, GUARDIAN

Anil Seth's radical new theory of consciousness challenges our understanding of perception and reality, doing for brain science what Dawkins did for evolutionary biology.


Being You is not as simple as it sounds. Somehow, within each of our brains, billions of neurons work to create our conscious experience. How does this happen? Why do we experience life in the first person? After over twenty years researching the brain, world-renowned neuroscientist Anil Seth puts forward a radical new theory of consciousness and self. His unique theory of what it means to 'be you' challenges our understanding of perception and reality and it turns what you thought you knew about yourself on its head.

'Seth thinks clearly and sharply on one of the hardest problems of science and philosophy, cutting through weeds with a scientist's mind and a storyteller's skill.'
ADAM RUTHERFORD

'A page-turner and a mind-blower . . . Beautifully written, crystal clear, deeply insightful.'
DAVID EAGLEMAN

'If you read one book about conciousness, it must be Seth's.
JULIAN BAGGINI, WALL STREET JOURNAL

©2021 Faber & Faber (P)2021 Faber & Faber
Biological Sciences Neuroscience & Neuropsychology Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Science Human Brain Consciousness Inspiring Physiology Computer Science
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Critic reviews

"Anil Seth thinks clearly and sharply on one of the hardest problems of science and philosophy, cutting through weeds with a scientist's mind and a storyteller's skill." (Adam Rutherford)

"Seth provokes us to think about thinking...readable, relatable and gripping." (Alex Garland, director of Ex Machina)

"Offers a new cause for astonishment and wonder...a must-read for anyone seeking a better understanding of the brain and how nature sculpts the human experience." (Annaka Harris, author of Conscious)

All stars
Most relevant
I'm not a neuroscientist, psychologist, AI researcher etc but I am hugely interested in all of these fields and read (and listen) to as many books on these topics as possible.
This has immediately shot up to the top of my list of favourite books and will certainly be one I will be recommending loads.
A wonderful, clear and informative book on the current thinking on thinking. And how (and why) we do it, who else does and who potentially could.

Excellent

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This is just an astounding book. The first chapter or two were a bit slow but once I realised that this really wasn't a book you could only half listen to and dedicated my attention to it, I was enormously rewarded. Almost every chapter contained moments where you feel your world view is shaken and rearranged. The author takes incredibly hard concepts and allows you to understand them and picture their consequences. I've tried to explain some of this book to friends and family and I can't. It is an incredible skill to make it all make sense.

Just an astounding book.

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Every chapter will leave you with practical information to help you understand why we are so profoundly mistaken about what "we" really are. It's as educational as it is liberating.

Cutting edge scientific knowledge for lay people

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I love how this book challenges the nature of reality and how our brain works to make sense of it.
Basically what we call reality is an agreed collective hallucination.

Amazing new perspective.

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A fascinating, challenging and illuminating listen. To be honest, I wish I was much smarter than I am, and I think I would’ve got even more from it. My view of the world feels a little different now. It’s also worth noting that the narration was first class. Anil Seth (author) has an alternative career if the neuroscience thing doesn’t work out.

I got smarter by the chapter when listening to this

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