In this book, the creator of the Palm Pilot presents nothing less than a new theory about the brain/mind. The aim is to explain how the mind results from the activity of matter - specifically the brain cortex - and how this model may reflect an algorithm that is biologically plausible and implementable in computers. Hawkins believes that his model can be used to build intelligent machines and he explains what they will do.

The basic idea is as follows: the brain uses large amounts of memory to create a hierarchical model of the world and uses it to create, by analogy, continuous predictions about future events. The key to intelligence is, therefore, the ability to make predictions.

On intelligence will interest anyone interested in cognitive science in any of its forms, such as linguistic theory or artificial intelligence, as it presents a theoretical framework likely to have repercussions on any area of study that involves dealing with intelligence and perception models, both natural and artificial.