The Spike: An Epic Journey Through the Brain in 2.1 Seconds

231 Pages·2021·10.322 MB·English

by  Mark Humphries

T H E S P I K E

T H E S P I K E
A N E P I C J O U R N E Y
T H R O U G H T H E B R A I N
I N 2 . 1 S E C O N D S
M A R K H U M P H R I E S
P r i n c e t o n U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s
P r i n c e t o n a n d O x f o r d
Copyright © 2021 by Mark Humphries
Prince ton University Press is committed to the protection of copyright and the
intellectual property our authors entrust to us. Copyright promotes the pro gress
and integrity of knowledge. Thank you for supporting free speech and the global
exchange of ideas by purchasing an authorized edition of this book. If you wish
to reproduce or distribute any part of it in any form, please obtain permission.
Requests for permission to reproduce material from this work
should be sent to permissions@press . princeton . edu
Published by Prince ton University Press
41 William Street, Prince ton, New Jersey 08540
6 Oxford Street, Woodstock, Oxfordshire OX20 1TR
press . princeton . edu
All Rights Reserved
ISBN 978-0-691-19588-9
ISBN (e- book) 978-0-691-21351-4
British Library Cataloging- in- Publication Data is available
Editorial: Hallie Stebbins and Kristen Hop
Production Editorial: Brigitte Pelner
Jacket Design: Karl Spurzem
Production: Jacqueline Poirier
Publicity: Sara Henning- Stout (US) and Kate Farquhar-Thomson (UK)
Copyeditor: Dawn Hall
This book has been composed in Arno Pro with League Mono display
Printed on acid- free paper ∞
Printed in the United States of Amer i ca
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To Nic, Abbi, and Seth

C O N TE N T S
CHAPTER ONE. Introduction 1
CHAPTER TWO. All or Nothing 11
CHAPTER THREE. Legion 28
CHAPTER FOUR. Split Personality 45
CHAPTER FIVE. Failure 67
CHAPTER SIX. The Dark Neuron Prob lem 82
CHAPTER SEVEN. The Meaning of Spike 97
CHAPTER EIGHT. A Moving Experience 121
CHAPTER NINE. Spontaneity 134
CHAPTER TEN. But a Moment in Time 144
CODA. The Future of Spikes 164
Acknowl edgments 175
Notes 177
Index 213
vii

T H E S P I K E