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Being You

A New Science of Consciousness

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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

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
A groundbreaking exposition on the consciousness and intelligence of humans and other creatures. Are you a beast machine? Read and find out!

A groundbreaking exposition on consciousness.

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I am not a scientist yet Anil Seth made all of the content accessible and relatable. II don't think I will be lecturing on the subject any time soon but I did feel that I got a most excellent overview of the neuroscience of being. loved this book!

This is a great book I loved it!

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Woking on machine learning software
Really liked the book
- the fact that we predict and compare with sensory, this elegant way to implement model our environment
- brain work with best guess and all is prediction where the brain builds whatever we think is good for survival. It’s all hallucination …
- emotion is control way to stabilise the body’s vital system and future survival
- there is no freewill it’s all nonsense

Amazing

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Probably one of my favourite books of the year. Every neuroscience aficionado should read this..

Just epic

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recommend listening on 1.2x speed, overall pretty interesting, accessible and enjoyable read on entry level neuroscience and philosophy of consciousness

pretty good listening if not a little slow

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