Having read both Blindsight and Echopraxia I have to say the most impressive neurological takeaway from the books was the ability of my own brain to suspend critical thinking for long enough to enjoy the books.

In retrospect the core concept can be paraphrased as: Self-awareness and consciousness in pigs is the only thing that prevents them from flapping their trotters fast enough to fly(to the moon).

I'm not getting your point? the book had some out there ideas but the core concept of consciousness not being necessary for intelligence seemed fairly reasonable.

Fantastic book. Really made me think in some new ways.