Amazon.com info for 'On Intelligence'

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Back to reviews and details of On Intelligence

Amazon.com reviews:

Rating: 4 Summary: Interesting, albeit silently deterministic point of view
Comment Excellent philosophy on the intelligence algorithm in mammals, neatly condensed into a computer-programmable structure.

My primary gripe is that the author blindly, almost pretentiously, assumes that all intelligence comes from within the brain, and that everything is contained and deterministic. I don't blame him, but he could have spent at least a sentence acknowledging the possibility of self-determinism, rather than poorly debunking it. I think there is still potential for a continuum of self-determinsim, regressing to this algorithm when fully or partially absent.

If nothing else, however, this book describes a good algorithm for the projection of true intelligence on the mechanical universe perceived by the author. Now, go make some smart robots!

Rating: 4 Summary: Very interesting read and perspective on human vs. mechanical intellingence
Comment Jeff Hawkins knows computer technology. He also knows the human brain, having studied it for much of his adult life. His personal fascination with human intelligence has become a passion for understanding. Very well written and enlightening.

Rating: 5 Summary: Fascinating Read, Full of Insights
Comment This is an excellent and intriguiging book. I have been studying this topic quite a lot recently and the most interesting aspects were the realization of the internal structures of the cortex. Also, the idea that each of the senses just sends a "pattern stream" of information that can be interpreted by the brain using the same algorithm--no matter what type it is--was a revelation.
Some of his explanations of how the cortex layers, V1, V2, V4 and IT worked as a little hazy but perhaps I just dropped some connections.
For anyone wishing to learn in depth how the brain works, this book is a gotta read.

Rating: 5 Summary: Interesting and Compelling Thorn in the Side of Modern Science
Comment First the "facts":

Jeff Hawkings is not a scientist as many reviewers accurately point out. While he reviews some of the cutting edge approaches to artificial intelligence, his goal is definitely not to educate readers on these ideas, merely to give you an idea of the general mindset of these schools of thought.

In stark contrast to the "modern science", Hawkings spends most of the book discussing a novel and more holistic idea about the basic function of the brain and how this kind of perspective would influence the creation of Artificial Intelligence. The story is simple and compelling, a very stimulating and satisfying idea. While Hawkings does dive down into some very technical science as grounding points for his approach, he spends most of the book talking suggesting very accessible human behaviors and how they would be explained in his framework.

In this regard, the book is interesting and accessible to most readers. Advanced readers will find his more technical sections insightful and interesting, but not to the detriment of the casual reader.


Now the editorial:

To put it mildly, there's a reason why the greatest scientific minds seem to explode out of nowhere. The scientific establishment has a way of deciding that a certain thing is true and then using its systematic bureaucratic power to "box out" alternative ideas. This stifles variety and forces the most brilliant people (with right answers) to find unconventional channels for their insights.

After identifying the mainstream philosophies, Hawkins offers a paradigm shift in the approach to "intelligence". Instead of getting bogged down in the micro-advances of "modern science", he says, "What if the mind worked this other way?" He then carries this theme through diverse schools of thought, identifying both strong links to human behavior and existing science. While the details of his concept may not be quite right, the general concept has a simplicity and elegance both in the science and in how it can be seen in human nature. Even more amazing is the way that his simple premise explains so many things outside his "domain", a compelling test for new theories.

In my somewhat limited exposure to the subject, I suspect that the basic idea is so powerful that it (or something like it) will shatter the modern study of intelligence. At the same time, it is such a paradigm shift that the mainstream will no doubt ignore it for quite a while.

In that respect, this book offers a compelling and promising idea that is both accessible to an average reader and worth consideration by an expert in the field. This is a MUST READ for curious minds.

Rating: 4 Summary: Good, Eh, Good
Comment Awesome until the middle chapters give you a very convoluted and spectulaticve take on this theory. Nice Beginning and End chapters though...