The Experience Machine
How Our Minds Predict and Shape Reality
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The Experience Machine
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Narrated by:
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Andy Clark
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By:
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Andy Clark
About this listen
Brought to you by Penguin.
For as long as we've studied the mind, we've believed that information flowing from our senses determines what our mind perceives. But as our understanding of neuroscience and psychology has advanced in the last few decades, a provocative and hugely powerful new view has flipped this assumption on its head. The brain is not a passive receiver, but an ever-active predictor.
At the forefront of this cognitive revolution is widely acclaimed philosopher and cognitive scientist Andy Clark, who has synthesized his ground-breaking work on the predictive brain to explore its fascinating mechanics and implications. Among the most stunning of these is the realization that experience itself, because it is guided by prior expectation, is a kind of controlled hallucination. This even applies to our bodies, as the way we experience pain and medical symptoms is shaped by our expectations. From the most mundane experiences to the most sublime, it is our predictions that sculpt our experience.
A landmark study of cognitive science, The Experience Machine lays out the extraordinary explanatory power of the predictive brain for our lives, mental health and society.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2022 Andy Clark (P)2022 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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What listeners say about The Experience Machine
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Magnus H.
- 25-06-24
I was fascinated by this book and would highly rec
Andy Clark, a widely acclaimed philosopher and cognitive scientist, presents a groundbreaking perspective in his latest book. Traditionally, it was believed that our mind's perceptions were shaped by information flowing from our senses. However, recent advancements have overturned this assumption. With research backing, Andy shows that the brain is not a passive receiver but an active predictor, constantly anticipating and shaping our experiences.
At the forefront of this cognitive revolution, the book delves into topics ranging from psychology and science to artificial intelligence and beyond. It offers a compelling and insightful exploration of how our understanding of the mind is evolving.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- James Burnell
- 01-09-23
Well read and a great handling of a difficult but rewarding topic.
Loved this book. Great steps forward to getting rid of the destructive model of humans as limited data processing units.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Frank Amin
- 12-10-24
Fascinating stuff
It took me a little while to get into this, but then realised I needed to listen and learn more. A fascinating look at the mind’s mechanisms and the operations behind ‘prediction’ - learning and forward thinking.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Rory Gascoigne
- 11-05-23
Paradigm shifting
A fantastic exploration of the Predictive Processing theory of human cognition.
If you have any interest in human behaviour or philosophy of mind, get this book! A better collective understanding of the predictive brain will play a big role in the future of the human species.
After reading Clark’s more academic work Surfing Uncertainty, it is great to see this more accessible, yet still diligently detailed book on the same topic.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 01-12-24
Good not great
Enjoyed this book and would recommend giving it a read.
The reason I've given it a 3 star rating is because some of the studies referenced in the book are questionable and don't stand up to other more comprehensive studies. So the author is a little guilty of cherry picking.
The key themes throughout the book are fascinating and the narration is decent too.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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- Tout en chantant
- 26-06-23
Very badly written
I could not get on with this book at all. I found it very badly written and and poorly read by the author. He repeats himself to exhaustion without ever dealing squarely with the subject. Beating round the bushes and failing to construct a solid exposition. It is unbearably boring, in short.
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