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Lights On

How Understanding Consciousness Helps Us Understand The Universe

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Lights On

By: Annaka Harris
Narrated by: Annaka Harris
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Awe-inspiring and accessible, this exclusive audio documentary by bestselling author Annaka Harris explores the unknown corners of consciousness and the cosmos.

'Follow along as Annaka Harris interviews (and graciously challenges) the world’s leading scientists on the nature of consciousness… Magnificent.' – Susan Cain, bestselling author of Quiet

'Consciousness might be the greatest mystery of the universe, and Annaka Harris is our best detective . . . You’ll never think about what happens between your ears in the same way again.' – Adam Grant, bestselling author of Think Again

Is consciousness a fundamental building block of the universe, like gravity? Can humans develop new senses through neuroscience? And can artificial intelligence ever truly replicate the subjective experience of being conscious?

Join Annaka Harris as she calls on distinguished experts in science and philosophy to find answers to today’s most perplexing questions about our minds and the universe at large. Through interviews with thinkers such as Brian Greene, David Eagleman, Anil Seth, Carlo Rovelli, and more, Harris presents diverse perspectives on whether consciousness could be considered a fundamental aspect of the universe.

This revolutionary idea challenges traditional neuroscience and quantum physics, shattering what we think we know about ourselves and scientific phenomena as foundational as space and time. Lights On also questions how a new understanding of consciousness might affect our perception of existence, our notions of free will, the development of technology, and the future of scientific discovery. In a follow-up to her seminal book, Conscious, this audio-original documentary offers beginners and experts alike a chance to unravel some of humankind’s most enduring puzzles.

'Only Annaka Harris could take one of the greatest mysteries of science and make it not only an adventure but also deeply relevant to everyday human flourishing.' – Dan Harris, bestselling author of 10% Happier and host of the 10% Percent Happier podcast.

Narrated by Annaka Harris; featuring Jay Shapiro, Susan Blackmore, Sean Carroll, Daniel Chamovitz, David Eagleman, Sascha Fink, Adam Frank, Philip Goff, Joseph Goldstein, Brian Greene, Donald Hoffman, Patrick House, Christof Koch, Janna Levin, George Musser, Carlo Rovelli, Zoë Schlanger, Anil Seth, Lee Smolin, Sara Imari Walker

Produced and directed by Jay Shapiro and Annaka Harris

 Neuroscience & Neuropsychology Physics Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Science
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All stars
Most relevant
Loved all the questions and answers.
Lots of things that I’ve thought about. Great interviews with scientists and philosophers.
Very insightful.

Very insightful

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Not what I expected, but still excellent. This is a collection of interviews and discussions with some of the leading thinkings in this area.

Excellent

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I loved the interview / discussion style of this series, hearing the many different perspectives from Physics, Philosophy and Neuroscience. It would be awesome to see a new discipline, 'Experiential Science' evolve from these debates and discussions.
Whilst much of the science is at higher levels than I am at, I think having access to the many reference papers is a fantastic addition to help with exploring further.
Thank you for sharing.

Thought provoking

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Annaka has such a sharp mind and I love her laugh very much…this book is a brilliantly creative and coherent way of presenting us with incredibly complex ideas

Annaka has a delicious laugh

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For anyone who has spent time pondering the mystery of consciousness, this will surely be a deeply engaging and fascinating exploration. Annaka engages with a broad range of scientists and thinkers. In line with her underpinning intuition that consciousness is fundamental, this means she delves into many avenues of existence to explore this principle. For example the discussions around the behaviour of trees and bacteria… alongside of the chapters exploring the current boundaries of theoretical physics and possible explanations for quantum relations. They are framed by chats with a lay colleague which are very helpful, providing necessary recaps and anchoring back into the broad direction of travel.

Annaka has an engaging personal voice that I found easy to listen to as part of the well paced narrative.

The final sections explore some avenues that are currently beyond the reach of our current paradigms for doing science, very much into the realm of theory and philosophy. Which is appropriate given that there are so many deep mysteries still to unravel within this sphere.

I gave it only four stars for a specific reason. There is no part of me that has ever had any belief in religion or a higher power of any kind. But for many people there would surely be a huge God shaped hole in this space. And that becomes increasingly true for me the further the documentary proceeds, particularly with the closing remarks where Annika wonders if it is the case that… “consciousness has always been there, and in some sense that is all there is.”
This has such strong parallels with mystic and religious thought that it seems remiss to never even once mention religion across the whole documentary - perhaps not as a discreet topic but at least in the chats and recap parts. And if not touching religion, at least then some of the key principles of Buddhism which have such strong alignment with some of the concluding remarks as well as Annika’s experiences through meditation.

A deeply engaging and fascinating exploration of one of the timeless questions of science and philosophy

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