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Scott Alexander's review summarizes my take on this book incredibly well > Julian Jaynes’ The Origin Of Consciousness In The Breakdown Of The Bicameral Mind is

Scott Alexander's review summarizes my take on this book incredibly well > Julian Jaynes’ The Origin Of Consciousness In The Breakdown Of The Bicameral Mind is a brilliant book, with only two minor flaws. First, that it purports to explains the origin of consciousness. And second, that it posits a breakdown of the bicameral mind. It's really a great read if you enjoy thinking about the mind. It's full of little insights and novel ways of thinking. So long as you don't take Jaynes too seriously. https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/06/01/book-review-origin-of-consciousness-in-the-breakdown-of-the-bicameral-mind/ https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/06/01/book-review-origin-of-...

flenserboy 4y ago
Agreed. But it is an example of the sort of book that we don't get a chance to see too often these days — a book built from a combination of knowledge and imagination, driving down and through territory most everyone else avoids or doesn't even notice. For the purpose of pushing the boundaries of thought, and charting unknown territory, it truly doesn't matter when such people turn out to be mistaken or wrong; what matters is that they've opened ground for others to cover and investigate. Our siloed, narrow-to-a-mathematical-point graduate education system does everything it can to keep people from building such thought edifices, and from true, organic cross-discipline/category work. We need more like Jaynes.
- JackFr 4y ago
  I would rather read Jaynes for the breadth of his knowledge and novel ideas than one hundred “scientists identify the location of bad taste” fMRI papers.
  - jamiek88 4y ago
    Within a few years there will be a grand reckoning with fMRI. The fallout will be huge.
    - hprotagonist 4y ago
      yeah well we’ve been waiting for that for about 15 years so any day now …
- sdenton4 4y ago
  David Graeber,RIP. Both 'Debt' and 'The Dawn of Everything' are wildly ambitious and brimming with ideas.

flenserboy 4y ago

Agreed. But it is an example of the sort of book that we don't get a chance to see too often these days — a book built from a combination of knowledge and imagination, driving down and through territory most everyone else avoids or doesn't even notice. For the purpose of pushing the boundaries of thought, and charting unknown territory, it truly doesn't matter when such people turn out to be mistaken or wrong; what matters is that they've opened ground for others to cover and investigate. Our siloed, narrow-to-a-mathematical-point graduate education system does everything it can to keep people from building such thought edifices, and from true, organic cross-discipline/category work. We need more like Jaynes.

JackFr 4y ago
I would rather read Jaynes for the breadth of his knowledge and novel ideas than one hundred “scientists identify the location of bad taste” fMRI papers.
- jamiek88 4y ago
  Within a few years there will be a grand reckoning with fMRI. The fallout will be huge.
  - hprotagonist 4y ago
    yeah well we’ve been waiting for that for about 15 years so any day now …
sdenton4 4y ago
David Graeber,RIP. Both 'Debt' and 'The Dawn of Everything' are wildly ambitious and brimming with ideas.