Recent advances in the study of visual cognition and consciousness have dealt primarily with steady-state properties of visual processing, with little attention to its dynamic aspects. The First Half Second brings together for the first time the latest research on the dynamics of conscious and unconscious processing of visual information, examining the time-course of visual processes from the moment a stimulus is presented until it registers in a behavioral response or in consciousness a few hundred milliseconds later.
"Consciousness matters. Arguably it matters more than anything. The purpose of this book is to build towards an explanation of just what the matter is." Nicholas Humphrey begins this compelling exploration of the biggest of big questions with a challenge to the reader, and himself. What's involved in "seeing red"? What is it like for us to see someone else seeing something red?
For Ken Wilber’s many avid readers—and those who have been waiting for a highly accessible invitation to his work—here is one of the most creative and significant thinkers of our time offering a feast of ideas and inspiration on our evolution toward Kosmic Consciousness.
Taught by Daniel N. Robinson Philosophy Faculty, Oxford University; Distinguished Professor, Emeritus, Georgetown University Ph.D., City University of New York
It's as essential to human existence as water is to a fish, and yet every night we surrender it gratefully. As human beings, we recognize that we have it, but we can never be sure anyone else does. It has been the subject of debate for philosophers and scientists for millennia, but we've yet to pin down or even understand its true essence and purpose.
A science experiment that unwittingly shuts down all human consciousness for two minutes is the catalyst for a creative exploration of fate, free will and the nature of the universe in Sawyer's soul-searching new work (after Factoring Humanity). In April 2009, Lloyd and Theo, two scientists at the European Organization for Particle Physics (CERN), run an experiment that accidentally transports the world's consciousness 20 years into the future. When humanity reawakens a moment later, chaos rules.
(12 lectures, 30 minutes/lecture)
