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Understand
Leon is a former coma victim, who has gone experimental medical treatment to repair the massive trauma his brain received after he was trapped under ice for more than an hour. He’s regained consciousness, found he has all of his faculties back and a whole lot more. Originally published in Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine in 1991.
Approx. 2 Hours
Approx. 2 Hours
46 pages, Audiobook
Published January 1, 2006
About the author
Ted Chiang
105 books9,676 followersTed Chiang is an American speculative fiction writer. His Chinese name is Chiang Feng-nan. He graduated from Brown University with a Computer Science degree. He currently works as a technical writer in the software industry and resides in Bellevue, near Seattle, Washington. He is a graduate of the noted Clarion Writers Workshop (1989).
Although not a prolific author, having published only eleven short stories as of 2009, Chiang has to date won a string of prestigious speculative fiction awards for his works: a Nebula Award for "Tower of Babylon" (1990), the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 1992, a Nebula Award and the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for "Story of Your Life" (1998), a Sidewise Award for "Seventy-Two Letters" (2000), a Nebula Award, Locus Award and Hugo Award for his novelette "Hell Is the Absence of God" (2002), a Nebula and Hugo Award for his novelette "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" (2007), and a British Science Fiction Association Award, a Locus Award, and the Hugo Award for Best Short Story for "Exhalation" (2009).
Chiang turned down a Hugo nomination for his short story "Liking What You See: A Documentary" in 2003, on the grounds that the story was rushed due to editorial pressure and did not turn out as he had really wanted.
Chiang's first eight stories are collected in "Stories of Your Life, and Others" (1st US hardcover ed: ISBN 0-7653-0418-X; 1st US paperback ed.: ISBN 0-7653-0419-8). His novelette "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" was also published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.
As of 2013, his short fiction has won four Nebula Awards, three Hugo Awards, the John W Campbell Award, three Locus Awards, the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award, and the Sidewise Award. He has never written a novel but is one of the most decorated science fiction writers currently working.
Although not a prolific author, having published only eleven short stories as of 2009, Chiang has to date won a string of prestigious speculative fiction awards for his works: a Nebula Award for "Tower of Babylon" (1990), the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 1992, a Nebula Award and the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for "Story of Your Life" (1998), a Sidewise Award for "Seventy-Two Letters" (2000), a Nebula Award, Locus Award and Hugo Award for his novelette "Hell Is the Absence of God" (2002), a Nebula and Hugo Award for his novelette "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" (2007), and a British Science Fiction Association Award, a Locus Award, and the Hugo Award for Best Short Story for "Exhalation" (2009).
Chiang turned down a Hugo nomination for his short story "Liking What You See: A Documentary" in 2003, on the grounds that the story was rushed due to editorial pressure and did not turn out as he had really wanted.
Chiang's first eight stories are collected in "Stories of Your Life, and Others" (1st US hardcover ed: ISBN 0-7653-0418-X; 1st US paperback ed.: ISBN 0-7653-0419-8). His novelette "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" was also published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.
As of 2013, his short fiction has won four Nebula Awards, three Hugo Awards, the John W Campbell Award, three Locus Awards, the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award, and the Sidewise Award. He has never written a novel but is one of the most decorated science fiction writers currently working.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 163 reviews
December 19, 2017
Reminded me of an updated version of Flowers for Algernon in many ways, the original short story or novella. It's free here:
https://web.archive.org/web/201405271...
Highly recommended.
https://web.archive.org/web/201405271...
Highly recommended.
February 28, 2022
I never want to read the word gestalt again.
February 23, 2023
I read this short as part of the Stories of Your Life and Others, a collection which I am finding phenomenal. I hope all of Chiang's stories are as good as the first two I've read of his. This one, "Understand," reminds me of Flowers for Algernon, or the movie adaptation, which was called "Charley." Both of those stories made me bawl tears.
This story, also about a young man whose life is rearranged by an experimental treatment that brings him superintelligence, is just as tragic, but thankfully, not as emotional. Very well done.
This story, also about a young man whose life is rearranged by an experimental treatment that brings him superintelligence, is just as tragic, but thankfully, not as emotional. Very well done.
August 21, 2018
A decent 'holiday read'. A few of these reviews suggest it's an original idea, but anyone who has read Daniel Keyes' 1958 classic, 'Flowers For Algernon' will know it's been done before, and done better. Sorry to be a killjoy to those who enjoyed 'Understand', but I found I couldn't make myself care about the somewhat cold protagonist, and the story didn't really go anywhere.
May 24, 2019
Totally engaging as all Ted Chiang’s stories are, and well worth the read, but it never reaches the level of the work we find in ‘Stories of Your Lives”. I actually felt a little disappointed with the ending, and that is a first with his work. A must read if you are following Ted Chiang’s work, as I am, but one that might be better engaged in later rather than sooner.
October 2, 2018
If you liked the monologue explanation scenes of Jesse Eisenberg in The Social Network, boy, here's an entire book of that.
But also... not much else.
A guy becomes super smart and describes for 80% of the book about the things he learns to do, like controlling his heart rate and seeing the patterns in every day life. He commits some minor crimes since they're so trivially easy. He makes money gambling and playing the stock market. It's all sort of faux edgy, or like that one kid in every class who's just a little too talkative to constantly demonstrate how smart he is, but comes off as merely annoying and socially unaware to everyone else - it's like that, but *more*.
And then the book ends. He meets an adversary in the last... five pages? It's resolved immediately. The End.
So I guess I'm pretty disappointed. This whole thing could be pared down for an introduction chapter to a much better book actually describing the implications of these things in the real world as he lives and grows beside humanity both using his intelligence and reflecting on what that power means for him and others. This entire novelette is a long-winded writing prompt.
But also... not much else.
A guy becomes super smart and describes for 80% of the book about the things he learns to do, like controlling his heart rate and seeing the patterns in every day life. He commits some minor crimes since they're so trivially easy. He makes money gambling and playing the stock market. It's all sort of faux edgy, or like that one kid in every class who's just a little too talkative to constantly demonstrate how smart he is, but comes off as merely annoying and socially unaware to everyone else - it's like that, but *more*.
And then the book ends. He meets an adversary in the last... five pages? It's resolved immediately. The End.
So I guess I'm pretty disappointed. This whole thing could be pared down for an introduction chapter to a much better book actually describing the implications of these things in the real world as he lives and grows beside humanity both using his intelligence and reflecting on what that power means for him and others. This entire novelette is a long-winded writing prompt.
August 13, 2021
To me, one of his best! It creates a subconsciously changing puzzle. Can you kill only by thought?
January 1, 2023
Why did I, a cumpulsive overthinker that often gets trapped within my own mind, decide to read a book about someone who kills himself by thought?
February 9, 2023
This js literally just Sheen from Jimmy Neutron on that episode where he got all purple and super smart.
April 16, 2013
This is included in the so-far-fantastic "Stories of Your Life and Others," which I picked up to quell a recently thirst for good speculative or science fiction. This is the second story of the book (behind the simple but enjoyable Tower of Babel) and is a great hook to get into Chiang's approach. The story does an incredible job of exploring what it would be like for a human to rather suddenly become aware of patterns, or gestalts, everywhere around them. We often think of mentally ill individuals as being disconnected from reality, causing them to feel distanced from the rest of us. This story describes the experience of distance arising from hyperconnection to reality; the narrator's mind connects patterns at such a furious rate that the only thing interesting to him is finding more about the nature of these patterns and, ultimately, the pattern of all reality. It is a topic that is exceptionally interesting to me, as someone who has thought a good deal about what other levels of intelligence/consciousness might look like. Of course, when talking about something like exponentially increasing intelligence, any human is hindered by their fundamental ceiling of comprehension, and this is where this story truly shines. Some see it as a flaw, but I believe Chiang has done a wonderful job here, in the face of those limitations. The way he describes the thought processes of the narrator are like Lego buildings; sure they're not perfect, but considering what they had to work with, it's pretty damn impressive. The only thing I wasn't crazy about was how the conflict was approached, it felt just a bit too comic-book-like for the seriousness of the story, but it did end on a very poignant note. Short and sweet, highly recommended.
June 27, 2019
My review of "Understand" is not actually of the audio book but rather of the story as it appeared in the August, 1991 issue of Asimov's Science Fiction. This review is excerpted from my review of that issue:
Whatever else they may be, stories by Ted Chiang are smart. "Understand" is about being smart, being, in fact, one of the smartest people who ever lived.
Leon Greco, the narrator, suffered extensive brain damage from oxygen deprivation. Doctors treated him with an experimental medication, hormone K, which regenerated damaged neurons, but then went on to do more, to continue to increase Greco's intelligence.
Greco agrees to take additional hormone K. He gets even more brilliant. Then things begin to change between Greco and the doctors working with him:
I realize who Clausen is: he's a government psychologist, perhaps military, probably part of the CIA's Office of Research and Development. This test is meant to guage hormone K's potential for producing strategists.
Greco, now certain that the government wants to use him, decides that his best course is "to downplay my skills and get [questions] wrong." Then he withdraws from the study.
Greco is sure that the government wants to take him into custody. He goes into hiding; he also steals another ampule of hormone K.
At this point, I think that it would be reasonable to wonder if Greco's suspicions are deserved or if he is suffering some mental instability, possibly as a consequence of hormone K. I don't know if that is what Chiang intended, though. Perhaps the reader is simply supposed to trust Greco's feelings.
Greco says that he gets increasing control over his body, using biofeedback techniques. Also, he says:
I acquire years of education each week, assembling ever larger patterns. I view the tapestry of human knowledge from a broader perspective than anyone ever has before; I can fill gaps in the design where scholars never even noticed a lack, and enrich the texture in places that they felt were complete.
And more:
I'm designing a new language. I've reached the limits of conventional languages, and now they frustrate my arrests to progress further.
Greco injects the stolen ampule of hormone K. Undreamed-of changes continue. Then Greco becomes aware that there is another being like him, a man named Reynolds. "I am a lover of beauty, he of humanity," says Greco. "Each feels that the other has ignored great possibilities." Could they work together or must they compete?
A fine story. In addition to being chosen by Asimov's readers as their favorite novelette to appear in the magazine in 1991, it was also nominated for a "Best Novelette" Hugo Award. When I first read it some years ago, I loved it. I still like it very much, but now I believe there are flaws. The first is intrinsic; to be consistent, the last section of the story should be in Greco's "new language." Obviously, this is not possible. Also, I honestly don't know whether Greco is intended to be sane or not, or whether that is even relevant.
Many of the people posting comments about "Understand" here on Goodreads mention this story's resemblance to a much earlier tale of greatly increased intelligence, "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes. I believe that "Algernon" is a somewhat better, more moving story than "Understand."
And a quote from the story "It Opens the Sky" by Theodore Sturgeon:
You don't, you just don't increase intelligence by a factor of five and fail to see that people must be kind to one another.
I would like to believe that statement is true.
Whatever else they may be, stories by Ted Chiang are smart. "Understand" is about being smart, being, in fact, one of the smartest people who ever lived.
Leon Greco, the narrator, suffered extensive brain damage from oxygen deprivation. Doctors treated him with an experimental medication, hormone K, which regenerated damaged neurons, but then went on to do more, to continue to increase Greco's intelligence.
Greco agrees to take additional hormone K. He gets even more brilliant. Then things begin to change between Greco and the doctors working with him:
I realize who Clausen is: he's a government psychologist, perhaps military, probably part of the CIA's Office of Research and Development. This test is meant to guage hormone K's potential for producing strategists.
Greco, now certain that the government wants to use him, decides that his best course is "to downplay my skills and get [questions] wrong." Then he withdraws from the study.
Greco is sure that the government wants to take him into custody. He goes into hiding; he also steals another ampule of hormone K.
At this point, I think that it would be reasonable to wonder if Greco's suspicions are deserved or if he is suffering some mental instability, possibly as a consequence of hormone K. I don't know if that is what Chiang intended, though. Perhaps the reader is simply supposed to trust Greco's feelings.
Greco says that he gets increasing control over his body, using biofeedback techniques. Also, he says:
I acquire years of education each week, assembling ever larger patterns. I view the tapestry of human knowledge from a broader perspective than anyone ever has before; I can fill gaps in the design where scholars never even noticed a lack, and enrich the texture in places that they felt were complete.
And more:
I'm designing a new language. I've reached the limits of conventional languages, and now they frustrate my arrests to progress further.
Greco injects the stolen ampule of hormone K. Undreamed-of changes continue. Then Greco becomes aware that there is another being like him, a man named Reynolds. "I am a lover of beauty, he of humanity," says Greco. "Each feels that the other has ignored great possibilities." Could they work together or must they compete?
A fine story. In addition to being chosen by Asimov's readers as their favorite novelette to appear in the magazine in 1991, it was also nominated for a "Best Novelette" Hugo Award. When I first read it some years ago, I loved it. I still like it very much, but now I believe there are flaws. The first is intrinsic; to be consistent, the last section of the story should be in Greco's "new language." Obviously, this is not possible. Also, I honestly don't know whether Greco is intended to be sane or not, or whether that is even relevant.
Many of the people posting comments about "Understand" here on Goodreads mention this story's resemblance to a much earlier tale of greatly increased intelligence, "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes. I believe that "Algernon" is a somewhat better, more moving story than "Understand."
And a quote from the story "It Opens the Sky" by Theodore Sturgeon:
You don't, you just don't increase intelligence by a factor of five and fail to see that people must be kind to one another.
I would like to believe that statement is true.
November 4, 2017
Read as part of Stories of Your Life and Others.
Interesting idea. Seems like the movie Limitless took some ideas from this book.
Interesting idea. Seems like the movie Limitless took some ideas from this book.
July 24, 2017
Short story in Stories of your life and others
This story revolves around a person who receives an experimental drug to regenerate his brain function while in a coma. However, instead of just fixing his brain damage, the drug increases his mental capabilities to extraordinary levels.
I enjoyed this little story. The concept isn't especially new, but the extreme, sci-fi levels the author took the idea to were interesting. While believability flys out the window in the second half of the story, the ideas that the author explored from there on were thought-provoking. Also especially enjoyed the ending.
This story revolves around a person who receives an experimental drug to regenerate his brain function while in a coma. However, instead of just fixing his brain damage, the drug increases his mental capabilities to extraordinary levels.
I enjoyed this little story. The concept isn't especially new, but the extreme, sci-fi levels the author took the idea to were interesting. While believability flys out the window in the second half of the story, the ideas that the author explored from there on were thought-provoking. Also especially enjoyed the ending.
January 7, 2018
Ted Chiang at his best again, here he plays around the human mind. This short story is brilliant and quickpaced to read. Elements from his other stories such as The Arrival(Story of your life), Exhalation, ... can be seen. Although this is one of his first works it is quite mature and well thought out.
January 21, 2017
I loved the evolution of the language as the story and his abilities progressed. Thus it's only natural that his thoughts get a bit too convoluted in the end but still, could've had a better ending. Still really good though.
August 13, 2014
Read immediately after "Godel,Escher,Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid" to see what a genius can do with the concepts expounded in that book. Mindblowing.
January 15, 2019
"მხსნელს პრაგმატიზმი უფრო შეეფერება ვიდრე ესთეტიზმი"
January 1, 2023
Great concept. Underwhelming ending.
December 16, 2023
This is Chiang’s second short story in his book “Stories of Your Life and Others”. I really love this sci-fi concept and while not original, his descriptions as Greco unlocks more and more of his intellect added something special. This story is a nice reminder to not overthink or you’ll dissolve.
April 5, 2023
One of the most interesting things I ever read. It is what "The Dark Fields"/(limitless) could have been. 6/5 stars highly recommended
March 24, 2024
Too much like Flowers for Algernon. But the ending was totally satisfying! I just wish that one of the 'uplifted' had been a woman, because, why not? And then it would be different from the classic. I read the copy preserved on the wayback machine.
January 3, 2023
Whadya know?
November 26, 2021
The first half is just like Flowers for Algernon but gets weirder as it progresses, the second half was so beyond the realm of normal that it started to remind me a lot of Dune, the "Enhanced" people reading a lot like Dunes mentats.
Engaging, but the ending was kind of meh
Engaging, but the ending was kind of meh
September 7, 2016
This is another amazing sci fi short story by Chiang. However, after reading the reviews here I realised that I understood the story in a different way than most (actually, all) of the reviews I read. The rest of my review will explain how I understood the story, so if you still haven't read it I highly suggest you do it before you read my review.
As I understand it, the story shouldn't be taken literally. It's more of a metaphor. The protagonist is an AI, he is either represented metaphorically as a human or programmed so he'll believe he's a human. I'm far from being an expert on the subject of AI, but from there little I know those algorithms are based on simulating neurons and manipulating them to identify patterns and repeat them, like how the "enhanced mind" operates. In addition, those systems are supposed to improve themselves over time.
Furthermore, when the protagonist attacks he uses loops, in a similar fashion to a computer attack. Reynolds is probably another AI, who developed in another direction to aid it's creators.
At this point you might think "but what about who he was before he took the drugs?". Well, it possible that because it's programmers wanted it to think it's human they programmed a little bit of human personal history. Maybe they even thought that if he'll try to go rouge, they may be able to use the relationships he thinks he have against him.
As I understand it, the story shouldn't be taken literally. It's more of a metaphor. The protagonist is an AI, he is either represented metaphorically as a human or programmed so he'll believe he's a human. I'm far from being an expert on the subject of AI, but from there little I know those algorithms are based on simulating neurons and manipulating them to identify patterns and repeat them, like how the "enhanced mind" operates. In addition, those systems are supposed to improve themselves over time.
Furthermore, when the protagonist attacks he uses loops, in a similar fashion to a computer attack. Reynolds is probably another AI, who developed in another direction to aid it's creators.
At this point you might think "but what about who he was before he took the drugs?". Well, it possible that because it's programmers wanted it to think it's human they programmed a little bit of human personal history. Maybe they even thought that if he'll try to go rouge, they may be able to use the relationships he thinks he have against him.
September 3, 2018
I´ve been reading “Stories of your life and others” and I feel the need to review this story independently as to present my opinion clearly.
I believe this is the most I’ve enjoyed a piece of fiction until now. I don’t know if this story will translate well to other people though since at times it seemed as if it was written for me. I suppose that might simply be the signature of a great work of art.
I believe this is the most I’ve enjoyed a piece of fiction until now. I don’t know if this story will translate well to other people though since at times it seemed as if it was written for me. I suppose that might simply be the signature of a great work of art.
Want to read
June 21, 2021Very engaging short story. It shows the power of intelligence, the power to understand our reality. The intelligence of the patient supersedes the collective intelligence of all people (including CIA). He can understand all actions, all the causes of all actions, he can create a new language which can better represent his higher intellectual abstractions. But even such intelligence is not sufficient when someone is 15 days more intelligent than you.
August 3, 2019
Story of Leon who gets smarter after being subjected to hormone K experiments. his intelligence gets out of dr. hands and develops into complete body and senses self control. what will the agenda for a smart evolved human be?
The author excels in depiction of the mental process which demonstrates his profound understanding of human mind, psychology and emotions
The author excels in depiction of the mental process which demonstrates his profound understanding of human mind, psychology and emotions
July 23, 2018
Brilliant, engaging and original. Albeit a rather anticlimactic ending, the flow of the story was impeccable. I loved how the vocabulary and the language evolved as the narrator's abilities progressed. A fast-paced short story that takes sci-fi to unexplored extremities.
November 24, 2018
this story read like an amphetamine rush! I caught myself steadily escalating my reading speed, trying to coordinate with the narrators cognitive enhancements. and the climax was ingenious! rivals communicating through fragments of somatic language and projections of somatic signatures.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 163 reviews