Boolean algebra as the language of the brain.

Petzold's book is a true gem. Its aim is to introduce us to all the main theories underlying the discipline of Computer Science, at least in a very basic manner. However, along the way it also displays some magnificent examples of philosophical musings about technology and the world of computing, such as the following comments about Boolean algebra:

The title of Boole's 1854 book [An Investigation on the Laws of Thought, on Which are Founded the Mathematical Theories of Logic and Probabilities] suggests an ambitious motivation: Because the rational human brain uses logic to think, if we were to find a way in which logic can be represented by mathematics, we would also have a mathematical description of how the brain works. Of course, nowadays this view of the mind seems to us quite naive. (Either that or it's way ahead of its time.)

(Petzold: p. 87)

Sure, it sounds like just one more far-fetched attempt to uncover the deep secrets of the human brain —one of many more designed by ambitious thinkers throughout the centuries— but, let's be fair, without people like Boole our world wouldn't be what it is today. The development of our civilization as a whole depends on crazy projects like this.