Includes bibliographical references (p. 327-403) and index
The cosmic mirror -- Up from dragons -- Neurons unlimited -- Superbrain -- Mind-engine -- Neural revolution -- Machiavellian neurons -- The troop within our heads -- Our living concern -- Doing the right thing -- Where memories are made -- What are we? -- Of human bonding -- The symbolic brain -- Lucy and Kanzi : travelers to humanity -- The runaway species -- The billion-hour journey -- Third-millennium brain
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A breathtaking account of the "unnatural" history of consciousness and human intelligence. Taking its cue from The Dragons of Eden, Carl Sagan's 1977 classic and New York Times bestseller, Up from Dragons traces the development of human intelligence back to its animal roots in an attempt to account for the vast differences between our species and all those that came before us. In a book that will spark a storm of debate, neuroscientist John Skoyles and awardwinning author Dorion Sagan introduce a controversial theory of the origins of human intelligence that may hold the answers to questions that have haunted scientists about mind, consciousness, and the evolutionary odyssey of humankind. It also introduces the revolutionary concept of "mindware"the human, evolutionary equivalent of computer softwareand describes how the evolution-accelerating symbol-using programs that make it up have empowered us with the unprecedented ability to take charge of our own evolutionary destiny