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NeuroScience Fiction
What if science fiction stopped being fiction?
Developments in neuroscience are turning sci-fi scenarios into reality, and causing us to revisit some of the philosophical questions we have been asking ourselves for centuries.
Science fiction often takes its inspiration from the latest science . . . and our oldest questions. After all, the two are inextricably linked. At a time when advances in artificial intelligence are genuinely leading us closer to a computer that thinks like a human, we can’t help but wonder: What makes a person a person?
Countless writers and filmmakers have created futuristic scenarios to explore this issue and others like it. But these scenarios may not be so futuristic after all.
In the movie Inception, a group of conspirators implants false memories; in Until the End of the World, a mad scientist is able to read dreams; in 2001: A Space Odyssey, a supercomputer feels and thinks like a person. And in recent years, the achievements described in leading scientific journals have included some that might sound familiar: implanting memories using optogenetics, reading the mind during sleep thanks to advanced decoding algorithms, and creating a computer that uses deep neural networks to surpass the abilities of human thought.
In NeuroScience Fiction, neuroscientist and author Rodrigo Quiroga reveals the futuristic present we are living in, showing how the far-out premises of 10 seminal science fiction movies are being made possible by discoveries happening right now, on the cutting edge of neuroscience. He also explores the thorny philosophical problems raised as a result, diving into Minority Report and free will, The Matrix and the illusion of reality, Blade Runner and android emotion, and more.
A heady mix of science fiction, neuroscience, and philosophy, NeuroScience Fiction takes us from Vanilla Sky to neural research labs, and from Planet of the Apes to what makes us human. This is a book you’ll be thinking about long after the last page—and once you’ve read it, you’ll never watch a sci-fi blockbuster the same way again.
Developments in neuroscience are turning sci-fi scenarios into reality, and causing us to revisit some of the philosophical questions we have been asking ourselves for centuries.
Science fiction often takes its inspiration from the latest science . . . and our oldest questions. After all, the two are inextricably linked. At a time when advances in artificial intelligence are genuinely leading us closer to a computer that thinks like a human, we can’t help but wonder: What makes a person a person?
Countless writers and filmmakers have created futuristic scenarios to explore this issue and others like it. But these scenarios may not be so futuristic after all.
In the movie Inception, a group of conspirators implants false memories; in Until the End of the World, a mad scientist is able to read dreams; in 2001: A Space Odyssey, a supercomputer feels and thinks like a person. And in recent years, the achievements described in leading scientific journals have included some that might sound familiar: implanting memories using optogenetics, reading the mind during sleep thanks to advanced decoding algorithms, and creating a computer that uses deep neural networks to surpass the abilities of human thought.
In NeuroScience Fiction, neuroscientist and author Rodrigo Quiroga reveals the futuristic present we are living in, showing how the far-out premises of 10 seminal science fiction movies are being made possible by discoveries happening right now, on the cutting edge of neuroscience. He also explores the thorny philosophical problems raised as a result, diving into Minority Report and free will, The Matrix and the illusion of reality, Blade Runner and android emotion, and more.
A heady mix of science fiction, neuroscience, and philosophy, NeuroScience Fiction takes us from Vanilla Sky to neural research labs, and from Planet of the Apes to what makes us human. This is a book you’ll be thinking about long after the last page—and once you’ve read it, you’ll never watch a sci-fi blockbuster the same way again.
380 pages, Paperback
Published April 28, 2020
17 people are currently reading
1560 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
November 2, 2020
Such a great book for a neurotech enthusiast. Rooted both in science and culture, explaining the neuroscience concepts of some sci-fi blockbusters (e.g. Matrix, Inception, Minority Report, etc.) giving concrete examples with modern neuroscience.
Most books are either one or the other (scientific or fiction) but here, Rodrigo brings us on a journey combining both in a beautifully written book. The author clearly knows his science. (he's a big name in the field, so yes he does ;))
Don't judge a book by the cover. I didn't expect much and wow was I nicely surprised.
Most books are either one or the other (scientific or fiction) but here, Rodrigo brings us on a journey combining both in a beautifully written book. The author clearly knows his science. (he's a big name in the field, so yes he does ;))
Don't judge a book by the cover. I didn't expect much and wow was I nicely surprised.
September 16, 2021
!!!!!!!
Es BUENÍSIMO, te da una idea general de varios temas , mezclando la ciencia ficción, la neurociencia y la filosofía, no se, lo amo
igual el final me hizo tener una crisis existencial más o menos pero bueno
Hablando en serio, está muy bueno pero se pone re específico de a momentos y para la gente que no sabemos nada de estas cosas te re perdes en los detalles, pero valen la pena porque te dan una idea general y suele explicarse re bien
Igual leanlo y saquen sus conclusiones PERO LEANLO 🤝🏻
Es BUENÍSIMO, te da una idea general de varios temas , mezclando la ciencia ficción, la neurociencia y la filosofía, no se, lo amo
igual el final me hizo tener una crisis existencial más o menos pero bueno
Hablando en serio, está muy bueno pero se pone re específico de a momentos y para la gente que no sabemos nada de estas cosas te re perdes en los detalles, pero valen la pena porque te dan una idea general y suele explicarse re bien
Igual leanlo y saquen sus conclusiones PERO LEANLO 🤝🏻
September 23, 2020
In NeuroScience Fiction neuroscientist Rodrigo Quian Quiroga starts off each chapter with a summary of ideas in a major science fiction movie and then talks brilliantly about where the current science and philosophical inquiry have taken us since the film appeared. First up is Kubrick and Clark’s 2001: A Space Odyssey and computer intelligence. Then come Blade Runner on the possibility of feelings in androids, Planet of the Apes on animal consciousness, The Matrix on appearance and reality, Minority Report on free will and Inception on dream construction, along with several other major films on cyborgs, memory manipulation and mind reading.
Quian Quiroga, who discovered “concept cells” in the brain, lets the ideas, often about some of the most contested and difficult theories, flow fluently and easily, especially for a lay audience. Thanks to this book, I have a much clearer idea of how the mind constructs the processes that create the feelings of being human. He also sets out the many ideas about human consciousness and how and whether machine intelligence will ever be able to achieve a similar state of self-awareness.
The idea of memory presented here contradicts the frequent characterization of memory as a kind of database, with the attendant notion that you might be able to remove or implant memories selectively. That’s pretty basic to a lot of science fiction stories.
For Quian Quiroga, the mind constructs memories, much the way it does perceptions of the world around us, relying on a few key points and filling in the blanks. Those key points are provided by concept cells for memory and filling in the details with a story we weave about what happened in the past. As he puts it, memory is a “dynamic process that is constantly evolving, because each time we consciously access a memory we are changing it.”
He then goes on to ask the most difficult questions about how we build an overall sense of self and, above all, the belief in our own continuity throughout life. Could those neuronal connections that somehow generate our identity be preserved and transferred to a machine? If so, what would be the result? The same person or someone different?
Read more at SciFi Mind
Quian Quiroga, who discovered “concept cells” in the brain, lets the ideas, often about some of the most contested and difficult theories, flow fluently and easily, especially for a lay audience. Thanks to this book, I have a much clearer idea of how the mind constructs the processes that create the feelings of being human. He also sets out the many ideas about human consciousness and how and whether machine intelligence will ever be able to achieve a similar state of self-awareness.
The idea of memory presented here contradicts the frequent characterization of memory as a kind of database, with the attendant notion that you might be able to remove or implant memories selectively. That’s pretty basic to a lot of science fiction stories.
For Quian Quiroga, the mind constructs memories, much the way it does perceptions of the world around us, relying on a few key points and filling in the blanks. Those key points are provided by concept cells for memory and filling in the details with a story we weave about what happened in the past. As he puts it, memory is a “dynamic process that is constantly evolving, because each time we consciously access a memory we are changing it.”
He then goes on to ask the most difficult questions about how we build an overall sense of self and, above all, the belief in our own continuity throughout life. Could those neuronal connections that somehow generate our identity be preserved and transferred to a machine? If so, what would be the result? The same person or someone different?
Read more at SciFi Mind
July 10, 2020
This is a comprehensive and accessible survey of issues about consciousness. He cleverly uses pop culture and famous history to make the science entertaining. His theme is to “tackle the greatest philosophical challenges” and explain them using science, pop culture, and by quoting philosophers.
“These days, we know that the mind is not a separate entity from the brain.” This politely refutes Rene Descartes' simpler views, whom he debunks but too often. The author has written a survey which references everyone, followed by his helpful recaps. He treats each issue as “not just a philosophical problem but quite a real-life situation” while he cites famous experiments, philosophers, novels and movies to help explain the science. His story often adds anecdotes as detours, some more interesting than others. Discovery of short-term vs long-term memory was interesting. Also story of goddess Mnemosyne, the mother of the nine muses, is fun if only to show the ancient Greeks were interested in the mind. Some of the topics suffer a shallow treatment by attempting to reference too many knowledge areas. There is a weak finish with the essay on Immortality loaded in philosophy. Those particular movie references don't help: Vanilla Sky didn't make sense, while the unfamiliar Argentine story needs to be explained.
Overall this was entertaining to read and helpful in understanding consciousness.
“These days, we know that the mind is not a separate entity from the brain.” This politely refutes Rene Descartes' simpler views, whom he debunks but too often. The author has written a survey which references everyone, followed by his helpful recaps. He treats each issue as “not just a philosophical problem but quite a real-life situation” while he cites famous experiments, philosophers, novels and movies to help explain the science. His story often adds anecdotes as detours, some more interesting than others. Discovery of short-term vs long-term memory was interesting. Also story of goddess Mnemosyne, the mother of the nine muses, is fun if only to show the ancient Greeks were interested in the mind. Some of the topics suffer a shallow treatment by attempting to reference too many knowledge areas. There is a weak finish with the essay on Immortality loaded in philosophy. Those particular movie references don't help: Vanilla Sky didn't make sense, while the unfamiliar Argentine story needs to be explained.
Overall this was entertaining to read and helpful in understanding consciousness.
February 20, 2025
"... somos libres, ejercemos nuestra voluntad, mas el libre albedrío no es algo mágico e inexplicable, sino que está dado por el comportamiento de nuestras neuronas. La falla radica en pensar que son nuestras neuronas y no nosotros los que estamos a cargo de nuestras decisiones, pues al hacer esta afirmación caemos de nuevo en la trampa del dualismo cartesiano, tan arraigado en nuestra intuición y tan difícil de evitar. Nosotros y nuestras neuronas son una misma cosa."
Rodrigo Quian Quiroga
Rodrigo Quian Quiroga
May 5, 2024
This had been sitting on my TBR for a little while. It was nice to finally get around to it, there were lots of little pieces that I could really connect with, esp with the stories that I had read. I like the possibilities. I hope that ti can find someone to talk to about this read.
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September 15, 2020Many scientists are inspired by sci-fi, it's fascinating to study imagination with imagination, through the mind. Nothing is more circular than studying neuroscience.
November 12, 2020
Absolutely loved and devoured it.
Fantastic mix of neuroscience, philosophy, history and science fiction. With loads of inspirations for further readings in all these fields.
Fantastic mix of neuroscience, philosophy, history and science fiction. With loads of inspirations for further readings in all these fields.
May 7, 2021
A bit heavier on the philosophy than I thought it would be, but when you're talking about the human brain it makes sense. I learned a lot from this book and have leads on more reading to do!
February 7, 2022
Enjoyed the combination of neurology, philosophy and the reflection of it in fiction and movies.
October 2, 2025
genial ! una forma facil y simpáticas de entrar en el mundo de la neurociencia
March 12, 2019
Gran trabajo de análisis de las películas de culto y su relación con los trabajos de investigación científica
December 6, 2019
Muy buen y entretenido libro.
Mezcla interesante de ciencia ficción, datos científicos y filosofía.
Mezcla interesante de ciencia ficción, datos científicos y filosofía.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews