The Case Against Reality

Why Evolution Hid the Truth from Our Eyes

De: Donald Hoffman

Narrado por: Timothy Andrés Pabon

Can we trust our senses to tell us the truth?

Challenging leading scientific theories that claim that our senses report back objective reality, cognitive scientist Donald Hoffman argues that while we should take our perceptions seriously, we should not take them literally. How can it be possible that the world we see is not objective reality? And how can our senses be useful if they are not communicating the truth? Hoffman grapples with these questions and more over the course of this eye-opening work.

Ever since Homo sapiens has walked the earth, natural selection has favored perception that hides the truth and guides us toward useful action, shaping our senses to keep us alive and reproducing. We observe a speeding car and do not walk in front of it; we see mold growing on bread and do not eat it. These impressions, though, are not objective reality. Just like a file icon on a desktop screen is a useful symbol rather than a genuine representation of what a computer file looks like, the objects we see every day are merely icons, allowing us to navigate the world safely and with ease.

The real-world implications for this discovery are huge. From examining why fashion designers create clothes that give the illusion of a more “attractive” body shape to studying how companies use color to elicit specific emotions in consumers, and even dismantling the very notion that spacetime is objective reality, The Case Against Reality dares us to question everything we thought we knew about the world we see.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2019 by Donald Hoffman. (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

not an audiobook

there are so many visual components that you lose a huge, HUGE portion of the book by listening rather than reading. very disappointed.

Intriguing Ideas, Yet Repetitive Execution—Perhaps Better Read than Listened To

“The Case Against Reality” presents a compelling argument that challenges our basic assumptions about the world. However, the audiobook format leaves something to be desired. Repetition is a notable issue; phrases like “which you can see in the accompanying PDF” are overused to the point of distraction. Some of the repetitiveness seems like an oversight in editing rather than a deliberate choice.

Given these drawbacks, potential listeners might find greater value in reading the text version of this book. Alternatively, I recommend listening to the Lex Fridman interview with the author as a primer before diving into the audiobook. While the delivery may have its shortcomings, the thought-provoking content still makes “The Case Against Reality” worth your time.

Very good book

The narration is well done.
The math is above my knowledge level and I disagree with his basic premise, but I would definitely have him over for dinner as a friend. Worth your time

it's very technical.

This book is an interesting subject to me but it is quite technical. It's a bridge between science and science fiction.

I expected to hear about guirks of human perception, but got so much more.

Yes, you’ll learn about what, how and why we perceive the world, but this book is so much more: „The Case Against Reality” goes into epistemological and onthological territory so deep and convincing, that I had to revise my views on myself and the world. Sometimes hard and complicated, it needs a lot of focus and attention on your part, but you’ll find out a great deal about evolution, quantum mechanics, the inner lives of famous thinkers and consciousness. No previous physics and philosophy training needed, although it casts a new light on the history of both. Oh, and Mr. Timothy Andrés Pabon does a great job interpreting it for audio. Truly amazing stuff.