"For Kaku, the brain is a computer made of meat, and understanding the mind is just a really, really hard engineering problem."

— Frank, Adam (b. 1962)


Date
March 7, 2014
Metaphor
"For Kaku, the brain is a computer made of meat, and understanding the mind is just a really, really hard engineering problem."
Metaphor in Context
For Kaku, the brain is a computer made of meat, and understanding the mind is just a really, really hard engineering problem. The fundamental laws are already known, and Kaku tells us we’ll soon be manipulating the stuff of consciousness with the same acuity we push electrons around in our digital devices. This singular confidence is both strength and weakness as Kaku unspools his narrative, and doubts about his core convictions begin to trail the reader like a parade of ghosts.
Provenance
Reading
Citation
Adam Frank, "Dreaming in Code: Michio Kaku's 'Future of the Mind'" New York Times Book Review (March 7, 2014). <Link to NYTimes.com>
Date of Entry
03/11/2014

The Mind is a Metaphor is authored by Brad Pasanek, Assistant Professor of English, University of Virginia.