Chapter 4 The Kinds of Thoughts That Are Thinkable Summary and Analysis

Chapter four explores the limits of our conscious thinking. Eagleman begins by talking about the senses once again and explaining the ways in which they are limited. We only sense a small portion of all the wavelengths of light, for example, and are incapable of seeing outside this range. Other animals, such as insects, can see wavelengths we cannot. With the sense of smell, a bloodhound is capable of sensing a whole range of odors that humans cannot sense.

Eagleman claims that our conscious mind is similar to our senses in that it has natural limits. There are thoughts that we cannot think, just as there are wavelengths of light we cannot see. Furthermore, just as we do not "miss" these imperceptible wavelengths of light, we do...