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I have read about the problems with IQ being measurement of intelligence but it was refreshing to hear them in the book. Studies on other factors such delayed instant gratification was a very interesting take on the topic.
It is very humbling to know that we still can't say with certainty on causes of mental diseases. We can only do trial and error at this stage. Hopefully we can get better at it with the recent breakthroughs that the book describes. Deep brain stimulation was especially fascinating one. It will be interesting to know if the effects can be permanent.
I am sure not everyone will agree whether the consciousness can be realistically defined purely in terms of your memories and experiences by mapping all the neurones but I am hopeful. As discussed towards the end of the book the quantum forces come into play at such a small level which we can't map. I wish there was some more time devoted to questions on free will from a scientific point of view but probably that's a more of a philosophical question than scientific one.
The most fascinating part was pure energy beings roaming across the galaxy. Kaku has called it an engineering problem rather than physics problem. It was a very novel take on space travel. Combine it with self-replicating nano-bots and you are creating a whole new world in any part of the galaxy. 2001 by Arthur C Clarke was mentioned so many times that I have bumped it up in my tbr.
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