The Genius Within

The Genius Within: Discovering the Intelligence of Every Living Thing

by Frank T. Vertosick, Jr.

Reviews copied from Amazon.com

If we're so smart, why are we still at the mercy of treacherous microorganisms? The Genius Within: Discovering the Intelligence of Every Living Thing asks readers to let go of brain worship and look at the incredible problem-solving skills of viruses, ants, and other lowly creatures. Neurosurgeon Frank T. Vertosick Jr. seems an unlikely candidate to write a book celebrating noncerebral intelligence, but his knowledge helps him draw comparisons that others might miss. The fast-moving genetic intelligence of bacteria and immune systems might not match the precision of digital computers, but they have devised arms races much more complex--and deadly--than our comparatively paltry efforts. Vertosick's grasp of what it means to behave intelligently comes through clearly, even if he is as stumped as anyone trying to define the I word. Exploring parallels between neural networks, insect colonies, and our own brains, he finds common ground and shows that, as far as evolution is concerned, we're not so bright. It's not all bad, though: we're very good at what we do, and Vertosick hopes that we can learn to use our intelligence more wisely. From Amazon.com - Rob Lightner

All life is intelligent, according to neurosurgeon Vertosick: "To be alive, one must think." A practicing neurosurgeon, Vertosick maintains that intelligence the ability to store experience and to use it to solve future problems is an emergent property of groups. Thus, bacteria, the immune system, and enzymes can be as smart as the human brain. All of these entities operate within networks that communicate and adapt to change in true Darwinian fashion. He further believes that this network paradigm of problem-solving originated at the cellular level. Unfortunately, some of his ideas, which he admits are highly speculative, seem merely an exercise in semantics. He completely avoids the issue of consciousness, which he dismisses as "irrelevant to his argument." At times, he seems unnecessarily provocative, labeling those who would disagree with him as "brain chauvinists" and arrogantly rejecting nonclinical biologists as lacking in the proper perspective. On the plus side, Vertosick, who also wrote Why We Hurt, is a skillful writer who makes frequent, effective use of analogies. His engaging descriptions of biological, chemical, and physical processes will appeal to a wide readership. Appropriate for public and academic libraries. From Library Journal - Laurie Bartolini, Illinois State Lib., Springfield

In this informed but plainly speculative work, the surgeon-author of the well-received Why We Hurt (2000) asserts that biology on the molecular and cellular scales is intelligent. That this opinion is unorthodox is evident in Vertosick's regular asides to skeptics or, as he refers to them, "brain chauvinists." Vertosick's argument rests on two supports: a detailed description of chemical "learning" by bacteria, the human immune system, and enzymes; and a view that these structures behave as networks. A telling weakness to this argument is Vertosick's admission that "[his] belief that network architecture underlies all living systems . . . can't be proven to everyone's satisfaction with the available evidence." Yet his strength is the clarity and energy with which he explains the remarkable adaptability of, for example, bacteria in evolving strains resistant to penicillin--though he would call it "genetic learning" rather than plain old evolution. Even if they don't subscribe to Vertosick's thesis, readers will find much to learn and delight in here. From Book List - Gilbert Taylor