or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
52 used & new from £1.65
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
The Emperor's New Mind: Concerning Computers, Minds, and the Laws of Physics (Popular Science)
 
 
Share your own customer images
Search inside this book

The Emperor's New Mind: Concerning Computers, Minds, and the Laws of Physics (Popular Science) (Paperback)

by Sir Roger Penrose (Author) "OVER THE PAST few decades, electronic computer technology has made enormous strides ..." (more)
3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
RRP: £9.99
Price: £6.48 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £3.51 (35%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Want guaranteed delivery by Thursday, February 11? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
31 new from £4.16 21 used from £1.65
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover (1st) 29 used & new from £1.30
Paperback (Reprint) 11 used & new from £0.39
Unbound 2 used & new from £44.28

Frequently Bought Together

The Emperor's New Mind: Concerning Computers, Minds, and the Laws of Physics (Popular Science) + The Road to Reality: A Complete Guide to the Laws of the Universe + Shadows of the Mind: A Search for the Missing Science of Consciousness
Total RRP: £38.97
Price For All Three: £26.20

Show availability and delivery details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Shadows of the Mind: A Search for the Missing Science of Consciousness

Shadows of the Mind: A Search for the Missing Science of Consciousness

by Roger Penrose
4.0 out of 5 stars (4)  £6.99
The Road to Reality: A Complete Guide to the Laws of the Universe

The Road to Reality: A Complete Guide to the Laws of the Universe

by Roger Penrose
3.3 out of 5 stars (54)  £12.73
The Large, the Small and the Human Mind (Canto)

The Large, the Small and the Human Mind (Canto)

by Roger Penrose
4.0 out of 5 stars (3)  £10.89
QED - The Strange Theory of Light and Matter (Penguin Press Science)

QED - The Strange Theory of Light and Matter (Penguin Press Science)

by Richard P Feynman
4.3 out of 5 stars (12)  £5.98
Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid (20th anniversary edition with a new preface by the author)

Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid (20th anniversary edition with a new preface by the author)

by Douglas R Hofstadter
4.4 out of 5 stars (23)  £13.26
› Explore similar items

Product details

Product Description

Review

perhaps the most engaging and creative tour of modern physics that has ever been written (Sunday Times )

Sunday Times

"perhaps the most engaging and creative tour of modern physics that has ever been written"
See all Product Description
Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
OVER THE PAST few decades, electronic computer technology has made enormous strides. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(2)
(1)
(1)
(1)
Agree with these tags?

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Emperor's New Mind: Concerning Computers, Minds, and the Laws of Physics (Popular Science)
79% buy the item featured on this page:
The Emperor's New Mind: Concerning Computers, Minds, and the Laws of Physics (Popular Science) 3.7 out of 5 stars (14)
£6.48
The Road to Reality: A Complete Guide to the Laws of the Universe
12% buy
The Road to Reality: A Complete Guide to the Laws of the Universe 3.3 out of 5 stars (54)
£12.73
Shadows of the Mind: A Search for the Missing Science of Consciousness
4% buy
Shadows of the Mind: A Search for the Missing Science of Consciousness 4.0 out of 5 stars (4)
£6.99
Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid (20th anniversary edition with a new preface by the author)
3% buy
Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid (20th anniversary edition with a new preface by the author) 4.4 out of 5 stars (23)
£13.26
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

14 Reviews
5 star:
 (5)
4 star:
 (4)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.7 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Penrose's Fascinating Summary of Modern Science, 16 Feb 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: The Emperor's New Mind: Concerning Computers, Minds and the Laws of Physics (Hardcover)
Roger Penrose, one of the world's top physicists, summarizes modern science, examining topics including Turing machines, relativity, quantum physics, black holes, etc. At the end, he argues that the human mind can not be simulated by computers or anything algorithmic. The Emperor's New Mind is my favorite book, although I didn't feel that way the first time I read it. It is quite technical, compared to, for instance, A Brief History of Time, which covers some of the same topics. The second time I read the book, I really dedicated a lot of time to understand the material as well as I could, often working out problems with paper and pencil. This was necessary for me to see that his conclusion was related to the rest of the book. While Penrose obviously can not "prove" his belief, he gives a strong, fascinating arguement, and the book has definitely affected my philosophical views concerning consciousness.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


 
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and Mathematically Advanced, 21 July 2006
I found this book stimulating and entertaining in equal measure. It looks at the questions such as -- if we had enough information, we could predict absolutely everything, or not? Is the human mind simply a machine (for example a computer)? Can we actually be transported Star-trek style or not? Are we (including our memories) just a collection of atoms that could be reconstituted?

In answering these questions Penrose embarks on a tour of the mathematical concepts and theories that underpin our understanding of the Universe.

There seems to be much more maths than is really needed, and there is a lot of theory (The book runs to over 500 pages after all). You will also need advanced A level maths to cope (on the basis that I just coped, and that's the level of maths I reached).

Entertaining and enjoyable IF you are interested in Maths. If you are not, stay away.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


 
16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars superb math, physics and computation theory, poor biology, 11 Jan 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: The Emperor's New Mind: Concerning Computers, Minds and the Laws of Physics (Hardcover)
Penrose's text should be seen as a two fold effort: the first is pedagogical: it exposes with superb insight the theories of mathematical physics, the physical basis of computation theory (he draws on an analogy with geometry), as well as, a Platonic philosophy of mathematics (the present reviewer believes in a naturalistic approach, but that is hardly the matter here!). IF this was all in the book one could hardly give it less than five stars. However, Penrose goes further and discusses the biology of cognition; in my opinion at this point he is a bit out of his personal scientific experience and contributions, and his thoughts are speculative; the further involment of cosmology in the work makes the whole project a bit incoherent. Overall Penrose connects cosmology with biology of cognition through the key theory of quantum gravity which he speculates ties them together!; well for those who like to study science and not mere speculations these mean that they shall not enjoy some parts of the book! The other central theme, that quantum gravity is nonalgorithmic, and thus since (as he speculates) cognition is a quantum-gravitational phenomenon it should be also nonalgorithmic, it is of course a consistent conception, but again science requires more than that, it requires ways to test ideas and in my opinion Penrose offers none! But after all perhaps he did not intented to write down a science book.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Don't expect anything Earth-shattering
Roger's tome was required reading for one of the courses that formed part of my master's degree. After a good introductory chapter, Dr Penrose descends into a confused mess of... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Anthony R. Dixon

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Worthwhile Reading.
Although I am currently making my way through Professor Penrose's book, a review of my impressions thus far is warranted. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Laurence

5.0 out of 5 stars Great tour of physics, not sure about the metaphysics
I give this book five stars cos it occupies, along with Barrow and Tipler's The Anthropic Cosmological Principle (Oxford Paperbacks) a niche that nothing else quite does. Read more
Published 18 months ago by John Ferngrove

1.0 out of 5 stars Skip this
The one redeeming feature this book had was its overview of theoretical physics. The chapters bookending the good bit were a complete nonsense. Read more
Published 18 months ago by H. A. Van Berg

4.0 out of 5 stars Stylistic difficulties mask an outstanding book
Penrose does not shrink from the difficult when trying to explain the problems he's obsessed about. This is one of the best books on the subject (the subject in question being... Read more
Published on 30 Dec 2007 by Matt Westwood

2.0 out of 5 stars Misleading Title
The book digreses too far from its title with long detailed coverage of mathematical proofs and descriptions of quantum mechanics. Read more
Published on 12 May 2003 by AS

4.0 out of 5 stars Mind Bending Stuff
This book made me go away and learn math. After that I came back and found it incredible. It has inspired me to read books in many diverse subjects and made me consider taking a... Read more
Published on 9 May 2003 by whelmingodds

4.0 out of 5 stars An attempt to show that a conscious machine cannot be built
The author seeks to show that there is something about the mind that is 'not of the material world', and thus persuade us that a conscious computer or robot can never be built... Read more
Published on 11 Aug 2001 by bobobob5

4.0 out of 5 stars A lovely tour of recent mathematics and physics
Sir Roger Penrose provides a contemporary review of theoretical computing, mathematical physics and briefly, the biology of the brain to create a case for the non-computability of... Read more
Published on 31 Aug 2000 by roydwhittington@netscapeonline...

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good indeed
This is a challenging book. It ranges widely through mathematics, quantum mechanics and cosmology, and it does so in depth.

But the effort is worth it. Read more

Published on 22 Oct 1998

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 

   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject




















i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback


Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.