Nikolai Kukushkin, "One Hand Clapping: How Inanimate Nature Gave Birth to the Human Mind." Moscow: Alpina Non-Fiction, 2020

Neurobiologist and science popularizer Nikolai Kukushkin examines humankind from the perspectives of biology and philosophy in a robust popular science essay on the chain of events that led to the emergence of consciousness. What sets this book apart from similar books is its vividness and a certain playfulness. Kukushkin brilliantly makes complex concepts, like the structure of the human brain or the origin of language, simple and understandable. In the context of the mind-bending experience of "Cool," this is a necessary sobering aid.
"If we perceive the brain as matter, moved by information through time, then the very concept of consciousness changes and all questions disappear."

