SEARCH FOR TERRESTRIAL INTELLIGENCE, THE

The research on human intelligence is based on almost all disciplines of modern science. The following questions must be answered: What is information? How does information processing emerge? Can we trace the long and tortuous path of biotic evolution from reflex, through instinct, towards intelligence? The brain, as the most complex system of macro- and micro-structures, unifies energetic, electrical and chemical phenomena and carries human intelligence. Brain functions include memory, emotions, attention, etc. Are there gender differences? Speech, self-consciousness and the feeling of free will are tools of intelligence. What about genius, common sense and personality? Lies, myths, aesthetics and morality are inseparable parts of human intelligence. What about the chances and threats for human intelligence in the distant future?M Taube, a nuclear chemist specializing in the cosmic evolution of matter and energy, and K Leenders, an academic neurologist and head of the positron emission tomography (PET) program at the Paul Scherrer Institute, address those questions in this fascinating book on human intelligence.