九九藏書

本書試圖用科學方法來解釋意識的奧秘。在此，我並非想給出關於意識問題的直截了當的答案。我倒希望能夠如此，但是目前似乎太困難了。當然，某些哲學家誤認為已經解決了這一問題，但對我而言，他們的解釋並不屬於科學真理的範疇。這裏我想做的是勾劃出意識問題的本質，並提出一些如何用實驗方法來研究這一問題的建議。我將要提出的是一個特定的研究策略，而不是一個充分發展的理論。我想要知道的是，當我看某個東西時，在我頭腦中究竟發生了什麼事情。

Nobel Prize-winning biochemist Crick (co-discoverer with James Watson of DNA's double helix structure) here takes readers to the forefront of modern brain research. Geared to serious lay readers and scientists, this speculative study argues that our minds can be explained, without recourse to religious concepts of a soul, in terms of the interactions of a vast assembly of nerve cells and associated molecules. Crick delves into the nature of consciousness by focusing on visual awareness, an active, constructive process in which the brain selectively combines discrete elements into meaningful images. Early chapters include numerous interactive illustrations to demonstrate the brain's shortcuts, tricks and habits of visual perception. In later chapters Crick discusses neural networks – electronic pathways that can remember patterns or produce spoken language – and outlines research strategies designed to pinpoint the brain's awareness neurons that enable us to see.