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Ways of Being

Animals, Plants, Machines: The Search for a Planetary Intelligence
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( 1,582 ratings, 247 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
In Ways of Being, James Bridle explores the intelligence of other life forms, from plants to octopuses, and considers how these beings interact with the world around them. He delves into the potential for mutual understanding and cooperation between different species, ultimately encouraging a broader perspective on consciousness and knowledge.
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Format: Paperback / softback

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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book may appeal to you if you're fascinated by artificial intelligence, the natural world, and how various forms of life perceive and interact with their environments. It explores thought-provoking ideas about intelligence and consciousness beyond the human experience, blending science, philosophy, and storytelling.

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Ways of Being

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A mind-bending exploration of non-human intelligence, and how it holds the keys to our continuing life on earth.

What does it mean to be intelligent? Is it something unique to humans - or do we share it with other beings?

Recent years have seen rapid advances in artificial intelligence, which increasingly appears to be something stranger than we ever imagined. At the same time, we are becoming more aware of the other intelligences which have been with us all along, unrecognised. These other beings are the animals, plants, and natural systems that surround us and are slowly revealing their complexity and knowledge - just as the new technologies we've built are threatening to cause their extinction, and ours.

In Ways of Being, writer and artist James Bridle considers the fascinating, uncanny, and multiple ways of existing on earth. What can we learn from these other forms of intelligence and personhood, and how can we change our societies to live more equitably with one another and the non-human world? From Greek oracles to octopuses, forests to satellites, Bridle tells a radical new story about ecology, technology, and intelligence.

We must, they argue, expand our definition of these terms to build a meaningful and free relationship with the non-human, one based on solidarity and cognitive diversity. We have so much to learn, and many worlds to gain.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Ways of Being by James Bridle receives high praise for its originality and thought-provoking ideas. Critics commend Bridle's exploration of intelligence beyond humans, integrating cultural and technological perspectives. The book is described as hopeful, innovative, and deeply engaging, encouraging readers to widen their understanding of intelligence and our relationship with other life forms.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780141994260

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 30 March 2023

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Penguin Books Ltd

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 21.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 281g

Pages: 384

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About the Author

James Bridle is a writer and artist. Their writing on art, politics, culture and technology has appeared in magazines and newspapers including the Guardian and the Observer, Wired, the Atlantic, the New Statesman, Frieze, Domus, and ICON. Their first book, New Dark Age, about technology, knowledge and the end of the future, was published in 2018. In 2019 Bridle wrote and presented New Ways of Seeing, a four-part series for BBC Radio 4. Their artworks have been commissioned by galleries and institutions, including the V&A, Whitechapel, Barbican, Hayward and Serpentine, and exhibited worldwide and on the internet.

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