Putting Ourselves Back in the Equation

Why Physicists Are Studying Human Consciousness and AI to Unravel the Mysteries of the Universe

By: George Musser

Narrated by: Alan Peterson

"This is a delightful account of one of the deepest and most fascinating explorations going on today at the frontier of our knowledge."—Carlo Rovelli, bestselling author of The Order of Time and Seven Brief Lessons on Physics

A revelatory exploration of how a "theory of everything" depends upon our understanding of the human mind

The whole goal of physics is to explain what we observe. For centuries, physicists believed that observations yielded faithful representations of what is out there. But when they began to study the subatomic realm, they found that observation often interferes with what is being observed—that the act of seeing changes what we see. The same is true of cosmology: our view of the universe is inevitably distorted by observation bias. And so whether they’re studying subatomic particles or galaxies, physicists must first explain consciousness—and for that they must turn to neuroscientists and philosophers of mind.

Neuroscientists have painstakingly built up an understanding of the structure of the brain. Could this help physicists understand the levels of self-organization they observe in other systems? These same physicists, meanwhile, are trying to explain how particles organize themselves into the objects around us. Could their discoveries help explain how neurons produce our conscious experience?

Exploring these questions and more, George Musser tackles the extraordinary interconnections between quantum mechanics, cosmology, human consciousness, and artificial intelligence. Combining vivid descriptions with portraits of scientists working on the cutting edge, Putting Ourselves Back in the Equation shows how theories of everything depend on theories of mind—and how they might be one and the same.

A Macmillan Audio production from Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

©2023 George Musser (P)2023 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"The renowned science writer George Musser has taken on one of our time’s greatest issues: AI, how it works, and what makes it so powerful. This masterfully written book shows a surprising connection with theoretical physics.”—Max Tegmark, professor at MIT and bestselling author of Life 3.0 and Our Mathematical Universe

"George Musser is one of my favorite science writers of all time. Putting Ourselves Back in the Equation is an important book that will inform both the future of physics and the philosophy of mind.”—Annaka Harris, bestselling author of Conscious: A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind

“Electrifying . . . Musser explores the fascinating ways in which scientists are studying the physics of the mind . . . Musser has a talent for distilling complex science into accessible language . . . Lucid and endlessly intriguing, [Putting Ourselves Back in the Equation] will expand readers’ minds.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

This is a great book to stimulate your thinking

I am a process theologian that claims the God of the Bible is found in quantum mechanics. I have written a non-published book on the subject. This book affirmed my thinking that the vagaries of quantum physics allows God to act. I highly recommend this book.

A comprehensive update on the today’s intersection between physics and philosophy.

This is an exciting and fast flowing update on how today’s physical sciences  have come to a point where they must tackle notions of perception, consciousness, and ‘mind’ in order to make meaningful progress. In a thorough review and comparison of leading theories across a variety of scientific domains, including neural networks, quantum mechanics, time and space, evolution of complex systems and philosophy of mind, Musser effectively demonstrates a need for a new type of thinking that draws from different scientific domains and accounts for the role that we ourselves play as an integral part of the ‘whole’ picture that science aims to describe. I highly recommend this read to anyone curious enough to dive into the deep-end of where theoretical physics, philosophy and theories of consciousness meet as of Nov. 2023.

Strong Start, Discursive Ending

This book brings together the standard references in Consciousness Studies, but through the lense of physics. the first few chapters were very lucid, and it felt like they were laying the foundation for a clear thesis. Unfortunately, several chapters in the middle felt barely relevant, and then the end came rather abruptly. Overall, it was a strong effort to bring together diverse sources on consciousness. I enjoyed the ride, but was disappointed when the book failed to present a thesis or a call to action. The field is becoming crowded with books that digress at the end. Nobody expects an author to "solve" the Hard Problem, but it's still fair to ask for a clear conclusion.

Sure-footed guide on a misty path

The best of several recent books on what we sentient beings must be made of. Lacks a nod to How the Hippies Saved Physics, but for a hint near the end at cosmic conversations with neural nets.