The Idiot Brain: What Your Head Is Really Up To
by Dean Burnett
What is it about:
It's happened to all of us at some point. You walk into the kitchen, or flip open your laptop, or stride confidently up to a lectern, filled with purpose—and suddenly haven't the foggiest idea what you’re doing. Welcome to your idiot brain.
Yes, it is an absolute marvel in some respects—the seat of our consciousness, the pinnacle (so far) of evolutionary progress, and the engine of all human experience—but your brain is also messy, fallible, and about 50,000 years out-of-date. We cling to superstitions, remember faces but not names, miss things sitting right in front of us, and lie awake at night while our brains replay our greatest fears on an endless loop.
Yet all of this, believe it or not, is the sign of a well-meaning brain doing its best to keep you alive and healthy. In Idiot Brain, neuroscientist Dean Burnett celebrates blind spots, blackouts, insomnia, and all the other downright laughable things our minds do to us, while also exposing the many mistakes we've made in our quest to understand how our brains actually work. Expertly researched and entertainingly written, this book is for everyone who has wondered why their brain appears to be sabotaging their life, and what on earth it is really up to.
What did I think of it:
This is a great read!
Not only is it very informative, it's also fun. Burnett uses clear language and funny comparisons to explain how the brain works, and what it is up to. I learned a lot about my brain and was entertained at the same time.
There's a lot of information, so even though it's a fun and interesting read, I wasn't able to read more than a couple of chapters at the time. Especially when I tried to read when I was a bit tired I would get overwhelmed by all the things Burnett manages to fit in this book.
Overall this is a fun and very informative read that I can recommend to anyone who is interested in the weird and wonderful ways of the brain, but doesn't have the energy for more formal and dry reads.
Why should you read it:
It's an interesting and very enjoyable read.
Buy from bookdepository
No comments:
Post a Comment