On Intelligence

By: Jeff Hawkins, Sandra Blakeslee

Narrated by: Jeff Hawkins, Stefan Rudnicki

Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

Jeff Hawkins, the man who created the PalmPilot, Treo smart phone, and other handheld devices, has reshaped our relationship to computers. Now he stands ready to revolutionize both neuroscience and computing in one stroke, with a new understanding of intelligence itself.

Hawkins develops a powerful theory of how the human brain works, explaining why computers are not intelligent and how, based on this new theory, we can finally build intelligent machines.

The brain is not a computer, but a memory system that stores experiences in a way that reflects the true structure of the world, remembering sequences of events and their nested relationships and making predictions based on those memories. It is this memory-prediction system that forms the basis of intelligence, perception, creativity, and even consciousness.

In an engaging style that will captivate audiences from the merely curious to the professional scientist, Hawkins shows how a clear understanding of how the brain works will make it possible for us to build intelligent machines, in silicon, that will exceed our human ability in surprising ways.

Written with acclaimed science writer Sandra Blakeslee, On Intelligence promises to completely transfigure the possibilities of the technology age. It is a landmark book in its scope and clarity.

Download the accompanying booklet of brain function illustrations, examples, and tests.

©2004 Jeff Hawkins and Sandra Blakeslee (P)2005 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"[Hawkins's] argument is complex but comprehensible, and his curiosity will intrigue anyone interested in the lessons neurobiology may hold for AI." (Booklist)
"[Hawkins] fully anticipates, even welcomes, the controversy he may provoke within the scientific community and admits that he might be wrong, even as he offers a checklist of potential discoveries that could prove him right. His engaging speculations are sure to win fans." (Publishers Weekly)

Intelligence distilled to simplicity

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I give this book my highest recommendation. This book breaks down the genius and miracle of the human neocortex into a very simple and easy to understand process. I have a whole new perspective on human thought.

Makes Sense

The premises of this book are largely unproven hypotheses, but they match so well with my personal experience that they are hard to deny. At a minimum, it has given me new ways to think about simple things like how I manage to type these words with almost no thought as to how they get from my head to the screen in front of me.

It is remarkably accessible to a lay audience, and meaty enough for my appetite for detail.

Great, changed the way I think...

Made think about the way I think. There are a number (many actually) of partially or unsupported thesises. Still, I found it a compelling, and a very useful. I appreicate the detailed description provided to complex ideas.

Good insights but preachy at times

I found this book to enlightening, well written and entertaining with just the right combination of technical nuance. Definitely recommended. However, at times the author came across as preachy and overly zealous in striving to make sure that there is nothing magical about the mind. I do not necessarily disagree with it -- he just keeps hammering the point home.

so very interesting !

Candy for the mind ! very bright guy. I hope his theory is right.

This is neat!

You can not miss this one! How your brain works is explained in ways you never thought about and it makes perfect sense!

Yeah.....

Man if you can possibly keep up with the descriptions of what nerves do what and how and where then you are obviously more intelligent than I am. This isn't saying much though. Myself I had a hard time. I think that I need to buy this book and see the pictures that were so eloquently described.

The bottom line to the book is that we don't have a clue as to how the brain works, and to design a computer that would be able to properly analyze how a frontal cortex does what it does nerve by nerve you would need to build a brain.

Aha the great paradox, strikes again. Good luck.

I rated this at four stars because Stefan Rudnicki is so cool.

The Turing Era is Over

Any additional comments?

"Artificial Intelligence" as of 2016 is merely standard logic - it's not AI at all. Hawkins gets it. He wants to remedy this by actually modelling the intelligence mechanisms of the brain, and he offers a model here. As a scientific model there will obviously be revisions and Hawkins understands this. In fact since the book was published in 2005 there have been a few revisions to the model, and you can explore these on his website Numenta.com.

Without being irreverent, Hawkins explains how the Turing test for intelligent machines is flawed - THIS IS HUGE. Intelligence is a measure of predictive power, not behavior.

The predictive power of our brains arises from the ability of cortical regions to create memories, then apply them to future situations. This schema aligns nicely with anyone familiar with Hofstadter's (author of Gödel, Escher, Bach) 2013 work Surfaces and Essences. It's a beautiful model.

If you're not yet quite convinced, check out Hawkins' TED Talk, which is available on Audible's "Learn Something New" channel - How Brain Science Will Change Computing. This is how I found the book, and I'm glad I did. Awesome introduction to what will surely be a MAJOR field of study for programmers for generations to come.

The beginning of a revolution

I believe Hawkins has glimpsed the foundation and future of real intelligence. The author presents bold ideas about what we know as well as humility about what we do not know. This is thought provoking material with an immediate impact on your world outlook. The reader was consistent with difficult passages. The co-author did a marvelous job of keeping the explanations clears without dumbing the concepts down.

pretty informative

its paradigm shifting in a way. very inspiring ideas. although somewhat authoritative and dick-wavy sometimes.