On Intelligence

Apr 01, 2009 M.L. rated it 3 of 5 stars

"On Intelligence (and Condescension)"

The only thing wrong with Jeff Hawkins's book is Jeff Hawkins. His idea for the brain basic structure is exciting. (basically he argues that the brain works off a near-recursive prediction model based on stimulus and memory.) And he's really into intelligent machines. In fact, he may have convinced me not to fear the giant robot armies that have plagued my dreams. Nope. Now I can fear the infinitely-sized hyper-conscious EverMind that operates mainly in the...more

4 likes · like · see review

Jul 14, 2008 DJ rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone interested in the brain and artificial intelligence

Shelves: brain

Hawkins' theory is that the entire sensory cortex runs a single cortical algorithm to perform all of its sensory functions.

This single algorithm simply looks for patterns. Layers and layers of brain cells performing this pattern recognition result in our sensory experience. Here is an example of how this might work for vision:

Layer 1 receives sensory input from the outside world and looks for general patterns of lines.
Layer 2 receives input from layer 1 and looks for patterns of edges from those...more

3 likes · like · see review

Aug 27, 2007 kareem rated it 4 of 5 stars

original review:
http://www.reemer.com/archives/2005/0...

This is the second book that Phil Terry asked us to read as part of the Creative Good fellows program. It was writted by Jeff Hawkins, creator of the PalmPilot and Treo. Turns out Jeff's other passion is trying to understand how the brain works.

This book lays out his theory of how the mind works in layman's terms. Hawkins premise is that the brain uses a "memory-prediction" framework to operate, and states that his model fills in a lot of h...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 27, 2012 Dimitri Yatsenko rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: neuroscience

Mr Hawkins' dream was to encapsulate a basic theory of intelligence in a straightforward plainly written book. Written with science writer Sandra Blakeslee, "On Intelligence" combines Mr Hawkins' motivational autobiography, a scientific treatise on natural and artificial intelligence, and a philosophical discussion delivered in a no-nonsense, unembellished, yet stimulating narrative.

At its core, "On Intelligence" postulates that all higher cognitive functions are built on a single relatively sim...more Mr Hawkins' dream was to encapsulate a basic theory of intelligence in a straightforward plainly written book. Written with science writer Sandra Blakeslee, "On Intelligence" combines Mr Hawkins' motivational autobiography, a scientific treatise on natural and artificial intelligence, and a philosophical discussion delivered in a no-nonsense, unembellished, yet stimulating narrative.

At its core, "On Intelligence" postulates that all higher cognitive functions are built on a single relatively simple algorithm replicated across the neocortex. This hypothetic "basic cortical algorithm" is described as a predictive autoassociative hierarchical network. Left to its own devices, such a neural network should spontaneously generate stable invariant representations of regularities in the environment giving birth to perception, behavior, thoughts, consciousness, and imagination. If we could only mimic Nature and build such a network in silicon, we should be able to make computers that learn, think, and imagine. Mr Hawkins admits that most of these ideas are not original and his contribution is to organize them into a coherent hypothetical framework.

How credible is Mr Hawkins' hypothesis? How do we know the brain does this? How do we know that such an artificial model would exhibit animal-like intelligence? Mr Hawkins' answer is: be optimistic -- we are way overdue for some kind of a general theory of the brain. In a break from scientific form, Mr Hawkins does not seek out contradictory evidence. The autobiographical sections carries an air of a quixotic struggle against the errors and prejudices of the scientific and corporate establishments of the past and present, who lack the audacity to imagine that a comprehensive theory of intelligence could be within reach. In its more technical sections, the book identifies specific cortical structures responsible for these computations in rather computational than biological terms. No experimental evidence and no working computer models are described or reviewed critically. Instead, the key premises derive from introspection and personal interviews with authorities on the subject, e.g. "I had spoken to several ... experts and asked them to explain..." Mr Hawkins mixes experimentally supported findings with speculation and swiftly decides standing controversies without identifying them as such, leaving a casual reader with an exaggerated impression of how much is understood about cognition. In this way, the book often reads rather like marketing material for a specific approach than a thoroughly researched thesis presenting latest scientific findings.

Every neuroscientist strives to intuit a fundamental principle behind the ocean of facts about the nervous system and every computer scientists dreams of creating systems that could develop intelligence. Yet Nature is slow to give up her recipes. By helping envision what the answers could be, "On Intelligence" stands to inspire the budding scientist and engineer with the confidence to probe into the most daunting natural phenomenon that is intelligence. And it is for its enthusiasm and inspiration that "On Intelligence" earns my four stars.(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Jul 27, 2011 Dave rated it 5 of 5 stars

Jeff Hawkins has done a remarkable thing. He's essentially synthesised all of the information we have on how the brain works into a simple, elegant and utterly comprehensible theory of intelligence that will pave the way to the creation of truly intelligent machines. That's a massive claim I know but I honestly don't think I have ever read a simpler, more straightforward account of what intelligence is.

Hawkins' theory, in a nutshell, is that intelligence is a manifestation of the brains ability...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 11, 2011 Bruce rated it 4 of 5 stars

Presents a new framework for understanding the function of the neocortex. The main idea - that the cortex functions as a hierarchical feedforward/feedback system - is quite compelling. Learning this was worth 4 stars. Flaws: Hawkins took too long to get into the meat of the book, was too soft on the science (for my taste), and finished with an airy, useless discussion of quasi-philosphical issues and applications of "intelligent machines." The new framework presents a host of scientific issues (...more

like · see review

Aug 30, 2010 Preston Lee rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Scientists and engineers.

Fascinating read on the nature of human intelligence, written by a scientist and engineer not originally trained with basic neuroscience theories past the high school level.

On Intelligence presents a model of human cognitive processing based on the hierarchical, tree-like structure of neurons throughout the neocortex. These "columns" of information, over time, develop feedback loops that yield a massive, temporal, parallelized pattern-recognition system. (e.g. The sound of a leaky faucet is iden...more

like · see review

Jun 08, 2010 أحمد rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: كمبيوتر

هذا الكتاب .. و حياتي يدوران حول شغفين

الاول هو برمجة الكمبيوترات المحمولة و الثاني هو الذكاء

هكذا بدأ المؤلف الكتاب

لا اعتقد اني ابالغ ... الكتاب ثورة في العلم و يؤدي حاليا الي ثورة في التقنية موضوع الكتاب ببساطة شديدة هو ان الذكاء البشري هو توع من انواع المعالجة التي يمكن محاكاتها باستخدام الحاسب

الفكرة هنا مختلفة تماما عن علم (الشبكات العصبية) فهي تقترب من فكرة (كيف يعمل المخ البشري) اعتقد ان الكثير جدا من الابحاث في الادراك و علم الخلايا العصبية و علم النفس قد وصلت الي نتائج حتي الان تؤكد صحة ا...more

like · see review

Mar 14, 2009 Scott rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: scientificworldview, singularity

Hawkins comes off really arrogant but if you can get past that he has some really interesting ideas on how the brain works. I totally don't agree with some of his criticisms of AI research and he totally doesn't understand why Searle's Chinese room argument is complete crap. I also think he belittles the Turing test a bit too much, I think there is definitely still value in it, although I understand that it's not the only or best way to demonstrate intelligence. My last criticism is that his fra...more

1 like · like · see review

Jun 12, 2010 Jake rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: science

"On Intelligence" is an unusually readable cognitive science book, and one of the few that I've read that tries to present an overarching theory of the way the mind/brain system actually works. Hawkins approaches the problem as an engineer: his feeling is that previous attempts have failed because they ignored the mechanical biology of the human brain. So he starts at the neo-cortex, which he feels is the seat of human intelligence, and presents a straightforward account of how he believes it wo...more "On Intelligence" is an unusually readable cognitive science book, and one of the few that I've read that tries to present an overarching theory of the way the mind/brain system actually works. Hawkins approaches the problem as an engineer: his feeling is that previous attempts have failed because they ignored the mechanical biology of the human brain. So he starts at the neo-cortex, which he feels is the seat of human intelligence, and presents a straightforward account of how he believes it works. His theory is based on hierarchical memory structures embedded in the columunular structure of the cortex, which he believes is heavily organized around feedback. The purpose of these structures is to form a predictive model of reality, which is constantly updated as new information comes in. The end of the book features an engaging discussion of possible applications of his model- mostly towards building working artificial intelligence in silicon-based systems.

If you have read Hofstadter and Dennett's cognitive science books, Hawkins approach will feel familiar- all three of them agree that the brain produces the mind, and that consciousness is what having a developed neo-cortex feels like (after sufficient training.) Like Dennett and Minsky, Hawkins believes that intelligence is explained through a massively distributed parallel system of independent agents. But unlike the others (at least in the works that I've read), Hawkins presents a detailed model of how all of this might work in the brain, along with testable predictions that could prove or falsify his model.

My main problems with the book were really more of tone and style than of content. The meatiest part of the book, where Hawkins lays out the details of his neo-cortical model, is definitely hard to understand, and could use more diagrams. And sometimes he gets on a bit of an attitude towards the academic world, which he feels dismissed him and his theory when he first attempted to study neuroscience. But on the whole, this was a fast, enjoyable read- and a welcome new perspective on a lot of the current cognitive science ideas. (less)

like · see review

Nov 06, 2011 Ryan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, nonfic-science, nonfic-computation

If, like me, you're a software developer with an interest in true artificial intelligence, this is a very stimulating book. Hawkins applies his own engineer's mind to an effort to discern and describe the human brain's underlying "cortical algorithm", the means by which intelligence "works". As Hawkins sees it, the neuroscience community has been too focused on the minutae of how neurons function, without giving adequate consideration to the brain's overall learning and decision-making architect...more If, like me, you're a software developer with an interest in true artificial intelligence, this is a very stimulating book. Hawkins applies his own engineer's mind to an effort to discern and describe the human brain's underlying "cortical algorithm", the means by which intelligence "works". As Hawkins sees it, the neuroscience community has been too focused on the minutae of how neurons function, without giving adequate consideration to the brain's overall learning and decision-making architecture, while the computer science community has been too absorbed in traditional symbolic and procedural computation methods, ignoring insights that might be gleaned from studying the most powerful problem-solving system in nature. Of course, it's untrue that neuroscientists and comp-sci academics aren't interested in each other's disciplines, but the crossover is still a long way from mainstream. For coders working in industry (like me), Hawkin's thoughts may be revelatory.

The author focuses most of his attention on the cortex, the most recently evolved part of the human brain, and the one responsible for many functions of higher intelligence. His speculation is that this system uses the same generalized learning/prediction algorithm throughout, with little difference in how input from vision, hearing, touch, and other senses are processed. All this data is just sequences of patterns that the cortex filters through its multilayered hierarchy, each layer discerning trends in the input from lower layers, and forming models of the world.

This may sound like the traditional AI concept of "neural networks", but Hawkins breaks from that model with his view that the cortex uses massive amounts of feedback from higher, more time-invariant layers (which view the world more abstractly) to lower, more time-variant layers (which deal with more concrete experience), activating many context switches. He sees the cortex as a blank slate upon birth, which follows relatively simple programming to accumulate and categorizes knowledge. As our minds form, we find ourselves experiencing the world less through our sensory input, and more through our pre-formed models. Only when there is conflict between those models and our input sequences, is our conscious attention drawn to our senses.

In terms of biological neuroscience, this is all probably overly simplistic and not completely accurate (Hawkins doesn't give a lot of attention to the older, more instinctive parts of the brain), but if he's even partly right, his ideas have huge implications for artificial intelligence. If much our human intelligence really does boil down to a generalized memory-prediction algorithm -- one that may be complex, but not beyond our understanding -- the effects on the future will be astounding. Even if Hawkins wasn't able to prove his claims, they're fascinating to contemplate, and the next few decades will certainly shed a lot of light on their truth.

If this book speaks to you, consider also reading Marvin Minsky's A Society of Minds, which contains a lot of complementary ideas.(less)

like · see review

Sep 24, 2012 Ira Therebel rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: neuroscience, computers, non-fiction, psychology

I am no expert in neither brain activity nor building intelligent machines. This is why it is hard for me to say anything about the idea itself, nor would it really matter.

I did find it very interesting. I am pretty sure I learned about hierarchical brain functioning in my Cognition class a few years ago. I don't want to make a mistake to think that it is 100% right or that this kind of thinking is indeed superior to what is done by AI people. As Jeff Hawkins said, it is impossible for computers...more I am no expert in neither brain activity nor building intelligent machines. This is why it is hard for me to say anything about the idea itself, nor would it really matter.

I did find it very interesting. I am pretty sure I learned about hierarchical brain functioning in my Cognition class a few years ago. I don't want to make a mistake to think that it is 100% right or that this kind of thinking is indeed superior to what is done by AI people. As Jeff Hawkins said, it is impossible for computers being exactly like humans, so maybe having their intelligence work in a different way than ours would make more progress. Humans are not really perfect to try to make everything work like us.

Jeff Hawkins says himself in this book that he is sure a lot of what he says may end up being wrong. This happens in science pretty often with new hypotheses and theories. But this doesn't make this idea any less interesting. It could be a progress towards something great, even if only 40% of what he says is correct.

One thing I know that even though fish are not mammals and have a small brain, there have been studies done that have shown that fish can indeed learn, unlike it is said in the book.

It is the year 2012 now and the book was written in 2004. I am sure there is a lot of progress done by now and some of the details improved. I just had trouble finding it in the past hour. All I can find are the reviews of the book.

The book was written for people like me. Neuroscientists will most like find it too trivial. But us, general public who work in other fields, can appreciate how this book is written. I liked his way of explaining. He is great at providing examples and analogies to make one see what he is talking about. He is also good at simplifying the brain activity to make it easier to understand. My main problem was that he kept on repeating things. It seemed to me that he tried to go from a completely simplified view on his idea to the complete version of it by repeating it many times and always adding something new to it. I ended up being bored and wish he would break it down less.(less)

like · see review

Nov 14, 2009 Don Skotch Vail rated it 4 of 5 stars

The adrenaline ran through my veins as I read this book, because I loved it so much. I think he is onto something, although I suspect he got some of the details wrong. When I tried to map out what he was describing, somethings didn't look like they would pan out. E.g. "names" flowing up and down the cortical regions were very vague, and how they could still be static names while getting less specific at each region was confusing to me.

He doesn't do a great job of describing how he think the cort...more

1 like · like · see review

Nov 01, 2010 Mirek Kukla rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-and-philosophy

Jeff Hawkins presents his 'memory-prediction framework' of intelligence, which roughly states that "prediction, not behavior, is proof of intelligence". He rejects the common (implicit) assumption that intelligence is defined by intelligent behavior (think: the Turing test of AI). Instead, Hawkings implores us to better examine the brain.

The brain, he argues, doesn't compute the answers to problems - it retrieves them from memory, where memories are stored in a memory hierarchy. Our brain stores...more

like · see review

Jun 03, 2009 Rich Brown rated it 3 of 5 stars

Condescending, but interesting. A thousand examples too long. Or, to put it another way, the examples were 1 + 999 too many. Or as one might say, 10*100 examples are too many. In case I haven't made myself clear, think of it this way: more than 200 + 800 examples are in this book. This is heady stuff, so let me say it again. 400 + 600 examples are here, and more.

Computers compute, but brains do pattern recognition. Then they do pattern recognition on the patterns they've recognized. Then they re...more

1 like · like · see review

Nov 10, 2011 Faisal Nawab rated it 4 of 5 stars

The book is a take on understanding (human-like) intelligence. The author introduces memory prediction framework to explain the kind of intelligence humans possess. He defines intelligence as the ability to predict. This ability (prediction) can then take different shapes, like decision-making and even creativity. He view the brain as a pattern-recognition device. Different sensory inputs, he claims, are treated in (almost) the same way by the brain.

The treatment of the subject was very pragmat...more The book is a take on understanding (human-like) intelligence. The author introduces memory prediction framework to explain the kind of intelligence humans possess. He defines intelligence as the ability to predict. This ability (prediction) can then take different shapes, like decision-making and even creativity. He view the brain as a pattern-recognition device. Different sensory inputs, he claims, are treated in (almost) the same way by the brain.

The treatment of the subject was very pragmatic. His aim to understand the brain was motivated by building intelligent agents that can solve intelligence problems that are (currently) unattainable by machines, e.g. image/sound recognition. This pragmatism is refreshing for those familiar with kurzweil and Hofstadter's view of intelligence (and to some degree consciousness) as they also hint in their work that patterns are a constituent view of information for intelligent machines.

The (almost) identical treatment of patterns is backed up by two main arguments. First, as Ramachandran present in his "A brief tour of human consciousness", different parts of the brain can treat the same sensory input while resulting in an output (e.g. by consciousness) that is consistent with that part; as what happens with people with synesthesia. Second, the structural similarities of the human neocortex. However, this point was particularly surprising since the author, in the first half of the book, attribute intelligence to the neocortex, where it would be expected to be attributed to the cereberal cortex. However, he retain in the second half of the book this conventional view.

In general, the book is a really interesting read. The used language and the progression of ideas are easy to follow. It mixes the right amount of pragmatism and theory for a joyful general read. The only thing that I found bugging was his treatment of the notion of intelligence when he discussed the Turing and Chinese room test. His view that a system is intelligent if it can predict is not really satisfying oppose to the original Turing behavior requirement. Also, I find that his view on the Chinese room test actually contradicts his views in consciousness. (less)

2 likes · like · see review

Aug 27, 2009 Josh Giunta rated it 5 of 5 stars

Jeff Hawkins' theories about the brain are genius...

this video below outlines the main premises for his brain theories:
http://www.ted.com/talks/jeff_hawkins...

Synopsis of the book:
In a nutshell, his theory claims that the evolutionarily unique intelligence of our species can be attributed to the advanced functioning of our neo-cortex. This part of our brain offers a unique memory system of our experiences. The neo-cortex is like a giant file cabinet of all of our previous experiences.... in a...more Jeff Hawkins' theories about the brain are genius...

this video below outlines the main premises for his brain theories:
http://www.ted.com/talks/jeff_hawkins...

Synopsis of the book:
In a nutshell, his theory claims that the evolutionarily unique intelligence of our species can be attributed to the advanced functioning of our neo-cortex. This part of our brain offers a unique memory system of our experiences. The neo-cortex is like a giant file cabinet of all of our previous experiences.... in a sense, it analyzes the input arriving from our 5 senses and compares them with the memorized experiences, allowing one to make predictions about one's environment. This process can inform one to make intelligent decisions based upon the memorized experiences and thoughts related to it.

My Thoughts:
Jeff's theory got me thinking about the nature of learning itself. If the neocortex is constantly "playing back" recalled information into your consciousness, then this in itself prevents one from truly experiencing the new input of one's surroundings, as it actually is. Instead of observing the actual surroundings, one may instead be devoting energy to observing the memorized information about the surrounding.
If you have been to a particular grocery store 50 times in the past, the neo-cortex will essentially convince your consciousness that the experience is far from a new one. In doing so, it projects 'old' and 'previously learned' information into your consciousness, thus tranquilizing the power and attentiveness of the senses. This induces the "same ol' same ol'" feeling that we are all familiar with. But, when the senses experience 'something new', such as a new grocery store (or something more significant, such as visiting India for the first time), learning itself is kicked into high gear, because the neo-cortex does not have an exact point of reference. The senses become heightened, and learning occurs at a more accelerated rate.
When the neocortex 'does its job' this occupies a good deal of mental energy and conscious 'real-estate' within our minds. The neocortex is obviously essential to our nature and our survival, but if we understand how it operates within our minds, then perhaps we can learn for more hours in the day. Children are so captivated with the world partially because their neo-cortex does not have enough 'reference points' to offer the consciousness. Therefore it is relatively quite and children seemingly are learning round the clock, growing and understanding at a rate that makes us adults jealous.
At an age somewhere between 8-14 this rate of learning seems to change. Around that age, we seemingly no longer have the ability to learn 3 languages simultaneously, for example. But why? Perhaps it is because around this age, the neo-cortex matures and starts feeding the mind its predictions.
What if adults contain the capacity to control the neocortex's function for periods of time in order to
learn with the vigor that our minds are capable, as proven by childhood learning? I believe this is something that is exercised regularly. Perhaps this is the scientific explanation for mystical states of being, as illustrated by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi with his theory of "Flow," the timeless immersion in an activity often exemplified by athletes, musicians, meditators, and children.
It is important to examine the affects of meditation on the mind. Perhaps the scientific explanation of meditation involves the neo-cortex. Perhaps over time, meditation allows the meditator to use the functions of the neocortex at his/her discretion. I believe this is the explanation for 'being in the moment' and the concept of 'oneness.' Meditation may inhibit the neocortex from replaying the information it has obtained over time, therefore illuminating the senses, making observation and learning a constant.

(less)

like · see review

Jan 02, 2009 Robert rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: business

This book provides some very stimulating insights into how human being go about the process of thinking and how the brain functions. It helps you understand why things like Artificial Inteliigence are no where near matching the marvel that is the human brain.

To get the most of this book you will need to sit down and concentrate because there is plenty in here to digest. It is not something I'd call bed time reading. If you are interested in learning how the human brain functions and what makes i...more

like · see review

Dec 13, 2012 Matthew Peretz rated it 4 of 5 stars

Superb introduction - albeit a little on the 'colloquial side' in terms of use of grammar - to Jeff Hawkins. Jeff Hawkins (literally) invented and founded Palm Computing, then went on to spend decades studying neuroscience. The result is his new company (the latest result I should say) called Numenta and the product called GROK. It is a paradigm-shift in terms of understanding the brain, which would have been 'enough' but it is also the convergence of neuroscience and machine-science in ways tha...more

like · see review

Mar 27, 2012 Justin Noggle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: computing

Very thought provoking, though that says little about the content of the book. If Jeff is a bit optimistic about the time frame, his reasoning fits well with my own thoughts about the oncoming importance of truly intelligent systems. Of course his theory of the cortex is enticing, and resonates with how one might imagine consciousness arises from inert brain-matter, but is still just a hypothesis, more new-cortical study needs to be conducted before any true theory of consciousness can be made r...more

like · see review

Jul 12, 2012 Lex rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is the most important book I've ever read. I started reading it seven years ago, but put it down because I determined I wasn't ready to act on the ideas it stirred within me. Now I am. The next five years of my life are driven by the desire to implement my own creative interpretation of the theory presented in this book. Finishing this book was a symbolic way to start the hardcore training that will transform my life and career.

With the completion of this minor reading challenge I embark on...more

like · see review

Dec 30, 2008 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

Good read. It would be interesting to revisit in 40 or so years to see how accurate his model looks. It would also be interesting to read a layman-geared rebuttal from a differing perspective in the neuroscience establishment. I could have done without the more technical chapter (the next to last one?) but I blame that on the fact that I read it over Christmas holiday and the environment wasn't exactly conducive to focusing.

The model itself, as he presents it makes total sense to me, if not a bi...more

like · see review

May 31, 2009 Todd Martin rated it 4 of 5 stars

In "On Intelligence" Jeff Hawkins provides an interesting theory of the mind and intelligence. His theory centers around the idea that brains perform two main functions: pattern recognition and prediction. These two features help to explain why brains, even though they are small and slow are still able to perform some amazing feats.

He also discusses computing, artificial intelligence and neural networks and why these techniques have yet to produce intelligent computers.

The chapters discussing H...more

like · see review

Apr 21, 2011 John rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book proposes a seemingly sensible explanation of how intelligence works. Is it right? It's probably too early to say. You could wish that some neuroscientists would weigh in on this.

Regarding the blurb above, does Hawkins really "insist that computers designed to replicate human behavior are doomed to fail"? I didn't draw that conclusion at all.

Rather his suggestion is that past AI, neural networks, etc have thus far failed to replicate human intelligence because they DON'T model intellig...more

like · see review

May 11, 2010 Danielle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction, science-technology

Firstly, this guy talks about how much he loves brains and studies brains and looks at brains that I couldn't help but imagine him as a zombie. In neuroscience, we mostly discuss "the brain" as an indeterminant entity (to use his own terminology). Secondly, I get that you're a smart guy and you invented the Palm Pilot. Nicely done. I'm sure you've reaped the benefits of that (with which you started your own neuroscience institute?). A BRIEF intro about the author would have been perfectly approp...more Firstly, this guy talks about how much he loves brains and studies brains and looks at brains that I couldn't help but imagine him as a zombie. In neuroscience, we mostly discuss "the brain" as an indeterminant entity (to use his own terminology). Secondly, I get that you're a smart guy and you invented the Palm Pilot. Nicely done. I'm sure you've reaped the benefits of that (with which you started your own neuroscience institute?). A BRIEF intro about the author would have been perfectly appropriate. Let me rephrase. A brief, 3RD PARTY intro would have been best. You don't have anything to prove. People know what a Palm Pilot is and will be sufficiently awed. Get over yourself.

Now, to business. This book felt like two separate entities to me. There was the first 5 chapters that had to do with general theories of mind and the current problems with past and current AI/neural net systems research, then there was chapter 6 and the appendix that gets really specific about which cortical layers are doing what. The general theories are really interesting. Since I mostly study disease pathology, I actually have little knowledge of what intelligence research entails. The points he brings up regarding problems with that research all make sense to me from what I do know. I think that if you just read through chapter 5, this book has everything you need to understand the brain in philosophical sense. This part gets a 4

So . . . Chapter 6, or as other reviewers have called it, the confusing chapter. At some point during my education, I did have to learn about the layers of cortex and their projections and things, all of which I promptly forgot. There's a lot going on there. The best way to look at it is in pictures and diagrams (which he has to an extent). My main complaint is that the ideas between these diagrams are so mashed together that I had trouble staying focused. It seriously took me longer to get through chapter 6 than all of the other chapters combined. This guy has been thinking about these things for 20+ years and it shows in his blatant disregard for the normal reader's attention span. I read scientific papers all the time, and I still had trouble getting through. The progression of thoughts in chapter 6 was too rushed, and the diagrams were too simplified during the later stages. It would have been helpful to see a short series of diagrams next to each other for each stage of memory that he described. This part of the book gets 3 stars, but since it's the minority of the book, 3.5-4 is my best guess for a rating.(less)

like · see review

Dec 29, 2012 Peter rated it 3 of 5 stars

Somewhat interesting. Presents a "new" way of thinking about the brain and intelligence: the memory-predictive framework. Argues that the neocortex is the most important and defining component of intelligence as we know it. According to Hawkins, the vast majority of our experiences moment to moment are not derived from our senses, but rather are predictions from our neocortex based on patterns and sequences (invariant representations).

Hawkins believes this model of intelligence can and should f...more

like · see review

Mar 28, 2012 John Martindale rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: pop-neuroscience, science, audiobook

I found a review from audible by a fellow named Joseph that captured exactly my reaction to this book. Joseph wrote

"No doubt Jeff Hawkins is a brilliant cortex, given that each one of us and the world we live in is nothing more than the experience of an active cortex. But he is not a wise human, which, in my mind, is the greatest achievement of homo sapiens, not the ability to recreate intelligence in a machine.

It is telling that he admits to never studying the nature of consciousness, but in o...more

like · see review

Jul 18, 2012 Si rated it 3 of 5 stars

A book with many fascinating insights into how the mind works, sadly flawed with too many brash assumptions and glossing over important issues.
Let’s get the negatives out of the way first:
On p41 he makes the big, big assumption that only neocortex houses intelligence. This is pretty brash, given how we’re still learning about how the mind works and so much other stuff I’ve read shows how all the parts of the mind influence the others. That said, he hadn’t defined intelligence at that point.
And t...more A book with many fascinating insights into how the mind works, sadly flawed with too many brash assumptions and glossing over important issues.
Let’s get the negatives out of the way first:
On p41 he makes the big, big assumption that only neocortex houses intelligence. This is pretty brash, given how we’re still learning about how the mind works and so much other stuff I’ve read shows how all the parts of the mind influence the others. That said, he hadn’t defined intelligence at that point.
And to say on p43 that the mind is produced only by the brain period is also bold given all the research about body-mind, and the nervous system around the body which many think has a lot more to play in the makeup of the mind than we intuitively assume. It has been argued that the mind wouldn't function without the body, c.f. the feedback stuff he mentions. And this seems to be an unnecessary assumption.
Again on p51-52, though this may be splitting hairs a bit: the underlying algorithm doesn't contradict the idea of different ways of processing sight, sound, etc. to continue the computer analogy, it's all logic gates underneath, all number calculations, but built on tip of this are many different computer languages.
On the good side I laud his aims – he made his money building personal gadgets and is now spending his money on his intelligence institute.
So his aim is to correctly understand how the mind works – most other people have got it wrong, and no one has a grand theory of how the mind works like he does. Ahem, yes, bit grandiose and martyr-like. The book is that, i.e. a grand theory of how the mind works. That’s the first part of his work. The second is to figure out how to truly put this algorithm to work inside a machine. He says that while the AI industry has come up with some great applications, they missed the point as they started implementing AI before they fully understood the intelligent brain they were aiming to base it on.
He posits that the mind can take any input – we have sight, hearing, etc. and learn to process it. It works the same for each: it takes in data over a period of time. Sight is not a snapshot – the eye has three “saccades” every second; it takes in a little part of the field of vision each time and builds up a picture over time. Similarly and more intuitively with hearing – we process a series of sounds over time. It wouldn’t make any sense if we simply had a snapshot of time. And so with touch – if you wake up touching something you can’t figure out what it is until you’ve moved along it, i.e. a sequence of touch over time.
Then the cortex is made of 6 layers of neurons, each holding data that are an abstraction of the data in the lower layer. So for example when you hear music the lowest layer will hear notes, the next layer will put those notes into riffs, end so on. Or when you’re reading you’ll get letters at the lowest level, morphemes, words, phrases, then more abstract understanding at the top.
When we’re learning something, say reading, the simple part, i.e. the letters will go right to the top layer and we’ll be aware of that. As we learn, the letter bit goes down a layer and we can think more of the words, and as we get a bit more adept the words are all we need to consider at the top layer, and so on. So as we practise something, it gets so that we need to consider less at the top level
Unless of course there’s an “error”. Only errors filters up the chain, say if you are walking into your house, the way you always do, but you suddenly notice that a floorboard is loose – that will shoot up the layers until the higher layers become aware of it. Otherwise all the actions are pretty autonomous.
So the abstraction process is what the brain excels at, and something I’ve always intuitively thought the brain did too, so good to see someone else confirming the theory.
Now given his system for how the mind works, the final chapter on applying this algorithm to all walks of life is most inspiring. The idea of this algorithm’s ability to learn given any input is powerful indeed. So just plug it into a camera and a car, for example, and it would use that same algorithm to figure out driving. And once we spend the time training one system we can simply copy it and refine it. It would truly revolutionise our world.

Latest reviews here: http://unfebuckinglievable.wordpress....(less)

like · see review

Mar 14, 2012 William Herschel rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: science, nonfiction, kobo, 2012

This book helped me understand brains better. It outlines his theory called the memory-prediction framework and describes it for a layman audience, sort of. Actually, the only problem people seem to have with his theory is his lack of detail.

He postulates that the neocortex processes sensory and motor stimuli as patterns and that intelligence is the result of prediction through feedback; all senses are processed in the brain by the neocortex in the same way. It's just patterns to the brain. It i...more

like · see review

Feb 11, 2012 Broodingferret rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, biology, psychology

This was a fascinating book, and a surprisingly fast read considering how complex the topic is. Hawkins' insights into why AI development hasn't produced a computer that can do many of the things that human brains are capable of-like seeing the similarities between a piano and a saxophone-are well-reasoned and astute, and his theory of how human intelligence works is quite intriguing. Unlike some some scientists (when writing for a lay audience), Hawkins also devotes an appendix to a detailed li...more

like · see review

title link	preview: On Intelligence
avg rating	preview: On Intelligence Goodreads rating: 4.08 (1791 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27539.On_Intelligence?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1316636430l/27539.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27539.On_Intelligence?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]On Intelligence by Jeff Hawkins[/url]

On Intelligence

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

combine
Other Editions (9)

Genres

Readers also enjoyed similar books

Books by Jeff Hawkins

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About On Intelligence

On Intelligence

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topicDiscuss This Book

combineOther Editions (9)

Genres

Readers also enjoyed similar books

Books by Jeff Hawkins

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About On Intelligence

new topic
Discuss This Book

combine
Other Editions (9)