You and Betty and the Nancy's and Bill's and Joes and Jane's will find in the study of science

a richer, more rewarding life.

Welcome to Inquiring Minds. I'm Indravis Gontas.

This is a podcast that explores the space where science and society collide.

We want to find out what's true, what's left to discover, and why it matters.

If you've listened to, well, several episodes of this podcast, you've probably gathered that one of my passions is understanding

our conscious minds, figuring out what it is about the activity of our brains that leads

to the experience of being sentient humans. And one of the things that's always challenging

is acknowledging that, in fact, the mind is not separable

from the biology of the brain. I mean, that's one of the reasons why I love neuroscience is because

we have something tangible to study in the biology of the brain that can tell us something

about something so intangible like the mind. But what if that kind of approach leaves us missing,

a big piece of the puzzle? What if the mind actually extends far beyond the biology of the body?

That's what acclaimed science writer Annie Murphy Paul is suggesting. In her new book,

The Extended Mind, the Power of Thinking Outside the Brain. Now, when I first heard this title,

I thought she was going to talk about things like brain computer interfaces or implants of some

kind or artificial intelligence. But that's not at all what this book is about.

Instead, it's about the things in our environment that actually influence how we think. Well, I'll

let her tell you. Annie Murphy Paul, welcome to Inquiring Minds.

Thanks. I'm so glad to be here.

You know, one of the most surprising things for me when I read your book was that it's the most

uplifting book I think I've read this year. And it was a surprise because I thought, okay,

...