From being drafted into the military during the Vietnam war to solving the so-called hard problem of consciousness; from playing in chess tournaments to working on space robots for interplanetary spacecraft; from attending public schools in John Steinbeck's hometown to teaching computer science at a major university; from riding the big surf at Waimea Bay to inventing the world's fastest sorting algorithm; from racing model cars as a teenager to mentoring teenagers on high school robotics teams: Dr. Wagner's debut book, twenty years in the making, chronicles his struggle to live meaningfully in a quest for a coherent understanding of the human condition. ". an interesting life full of amazing experience . indeed an extraordinary man. I am honored to be his friend. He has been a great inspiration and motivation to my son, Kai, and myself." --Ron Van Clief, the Black Dragon.