Verkhum: The Mind Above

"The family decided… The state demands… The market reacted… Science believes…"
In all these familiar expressions, the true actors are not individuals. Yet we routinely speak of the family, the state, the market, or science as if they could think, make decisions, and possess intentions of their own.
This book explores how society itself thinks. The word Verkhum—literally "higher mind"—refers to cognition that exists beyond any individual brain. In its narrow sense, it denotes the collective intelligence of a social system; in its broader sense, its very personality. According to the author, verkhum can be found in institutions as diverse as parliaments, armies, markets, and scientific communities, as well as in families and even humanity as a whole.
Written by entrepreneur, producer, and musician Georgy Vasilyev—best known as a co-founder of the Beeline mobile network, creator of the musical Nord-Ost, producer of the animated series The Fixies, and founder of the science outreach initiative Vsenauka—the book offers an original perspective on a wide range of fundamental questions, including the origins of humanity, the nature of religion, the evolution of culture, and the future of artificial intelligence. It also addresses a deeply personal question: how does this collective mind shape the lives of ordinary individuals?

Georgy Vasilyev. Verkhum: The Mind Above. — Moscow: CORPUS, 2026.
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