Synopsis

The human brain remains an improbable marvel. It's a common assumption that the emergence of life inevitably led to our own evolution. Yet, consciousness itself is no foregone conclusion. For over two billion years, life on Earth existed without a brain. And even now, a majority of living creatures lack one. The confluence of events that brought forth consciousness, and shaped our planet into a home for it, is a tale woven from near-impossible and utterly gratuitous coincidences.