Thinks . . . by David Lodge, Secker & Warburg, 拢16.99, ISBN
0436445026
HE IS a cognitive scientist. She is a novelist. This being a David Lodge
tale, you should know already that sparks will fly. Bright sparks, in this case,
in an intelligent, thoughtful and provocative love story. What defines
consciousness? How do you know what someone is thinking? Is the conscious mind
simply the product of a bag of neurons, or something ineffably more? Thinks
. . . questions these mind-twisters in increasingly imaginative ways.
She maintains that consciousness is the province of fiction and people read
it to discover what goes on in other people鈥檚 heads. He argues that all you find
out is what the novelist intends you to know. Then she starts setting cognitive
thought experiments as assignments for her literature students. He sneaks a look
at her diary to find out what鈥檚 really happening in her head. And, guess what,
finds out much more than he wanted to know.
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This is the first Lodge novel set in the world of science, and it paints an
utterly persuasive portrait of it. The story is a cracking tale, but read it,
too, for the ideas. It鈥檚 obvious that Lodge has become fascinated by the science
of thought. Reading this, so will you.