{"product_id":"a-world-appears-a-journey-into-consciousness-9781984881991","title":"A World Appears: A Journey Into Consciousness by Pollan, Michael","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe Instant \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003eBestseller \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Pollan's real genius--the word is not too strong--remains intact. That is his uncanny ability to scent the direction in which the culture is headed. He did it with food and psychedelics, and now, though \u003ci\u003eA World Appears\u003c\/i\u003e focuses on AI only intermittently, he has done it again.\" --Charles Finch, \u003ci\u003eThe Atlantic\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFrom the #1 \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eHow to Change Your Mind\u003c\/i\u003e, a panoptic exploration of consciousness--what it is, who has it, and why--and a meditation on the essence of our humanity \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhen it comes to the phenomenon that is consciousness, there is one point on which scientists, philosophers, and artists all agree: it feels \u003ci\u003elike\u003c\/i\u003e something to be us. Yet the fact that we have subjective experience of the world remains one of nature's greatest mysteries. How is it that our mental operations are accompanied by feelings, thoughts, and a sense of self? What would a scientific investigation of our inner life look like, when we have as little distance and perspective on it as fish do of the sea? In \u003ci\u003eA World Appears\u003c\/i\u003e, Michael Pollan traces the unmapped continent that is consciousness, bringing radically different perspectives--scientific, philosophical, literary, spiritual and psychedelic--to see what each can teach us about this central fact of life. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhen neuroscientists began studying consciousness in the early 1990s, they sought to explain how and why three pounds of spongy gray matter could generate a subjective point of view--assuming that the brain is the source of our perceived reality. Pollan takes us to the cutting edge of the field, where scientists are entertaining more radical (and less materialist) theories of consciousness. He introduces us to \"plant neurobiologists\" searching for the first flicker of consciousness in plants, scientists striving to engineer feelings into AI, and psychologists and novelists seeking to capture the felt experience of our slippery stream of consciousness. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn Pollan's dazzling exploration of consciousness, he discovers a world far deeper and stranger than our everyday reality. Eye-opening and mind-expanding, \u003ci\u003eA World Appears\u003c\/i\u003e takes us into the laboratories of our own minds, ultimately showing us how we might make better use of the gift of awareness to more meaningfully connect with the world and our deepest selves.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Michael Pollan\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Penguin Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/24\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 320\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.22lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.43h x 6.41w x 1.15d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781984881991\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 02\/09\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 02\/01\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 01\/01\/2026 pg. 70\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 01\/01\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMichael Pollan \u003c\/b\u003eis the author of ten books, including \u003ci\u003eThis Is Your Mind on Plants\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eHow to Change Your Mind\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e Cooked\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eFood Rules\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eIn Defense of Food\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Omnivore's Dilemma\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Botany of Desire\u003c\/i\u003e, all of which were \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestsellers. He is also the author of the audiobook \u003ci\u003eCaffeine\u003c\/i\u003e. A Guggenheim and Radcliffe Fellow, Pollan has taught writing at the University of California, Berkeley, and at Harvard University. In 2010, \u003ci\u003eTime \u003c\/i\u003enamed him one of the one hundred most influential people in the world.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46524512141465,"sku":"9781984881991","price":32.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0572\/3367\/0297\/files\/img_eb5b1c9c-df36-468a-9f95-4a8b9abc8069.jpg?v=1773954811","url":"https:\/\/bookmarksretail.store\/products\/a-world-appears-a-journey-into-consciousness-9781984881991","provider":"Bookmarks Retail","version":"1.0","type":"link"}