A Thousand Brains: A New Theory of Intelligence
"A Thousand Brains" is a book written by Jeff Hawkins, a neuroscientist and an entrepreneur. Published in 2021, this book proposes a
radical theory on the working of neocortex and how it achieves intelligence.
Challenging conventional views, Hawkins argues that
human brain comprises of thousands of mini-brains (cortical columns) and each of them is capable of raising intelligence.
Hawkins believes that the basic function of the cortical column is to make constant predictions about the world as we move through
it. As Hawkins writes, "With each movement, the neocortex predicts what the next sensation will be."
Hawkins also argues that there is a single algorithm behind all the intelligence whether it's navigating a town,
or abstract concepts like mathematics and language. While comparing his theory with Darwin's Theory of Evolution, Hawkins says that
the algorithm behind all the intelligence is Reference frames.
Hawkins has divided his book into three parts
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In the first part, Hawkins discusses his theory of intelligence, which he calls The Thousand Brains Theory.
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The second part of the book is about machine intelligence. Hawkins explains how today's AI is not intelligent yet, and what we need to do to make intelligent machines.
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In the third part, Hawkins explains how we live in a simulation, and not the real world and how our beliefs about the world can be false.
