The Brain: The Story of You

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I understand the need to write a book for a lay audience, I really do. The unfortunate part is that much of what Eagleman presents in the book is just simply wrong and not supported by any real science. Early in the "book" he talks about how memories are stored as function connections between neurons. He alludes that the reason our memories are not entirely accurate is that the neurons have a limited number of connections and have to be adaptable. This is pure speculative fiction. Sure, this could be the truth, but there is no actual research that says this. It is unknown how memories are stored in the brain or why they are so labile. To present this interpretation as a FACT is not responsible.

Now coming to the ghost in the machine - what is the self? Is it only the electrical impulses generated in the hardware of the brain? But even the brain is not unchanging:PDF / EPUB File Name: Brain___The_Story_of_You_9781101870549_-_David_Eagleman.pdf, Brain___The_Story_of_You_9781101870549_-_David_Eagleman.epub Genocide is only possible when dehumanization happens on a massive scale, and the perfect tool for this job is propaganda: it keys right into the neural networks that understand other people, and dials down the degree to which we empathize with them. The Brain: The Story of You will be of great interest for those seeking to understanding the human brain and how it makes us who we are. Education can play a key role in preventing genocide. If children are taught that systems of rules are arbitrary; that the truths of the world aren’t fixed, and moreover are not necessarily truths, this gives them the power to see through political agendas and form their own opinions.

Includes interesting stories. The story of Charles Whitman is quite enlightening with major repercussions on a society that values evidence. Goes over some of the keys components of the brain. “The scientists were particularly interested in a small area of the brain called the hippocampus – vital for memory, and, in particular, spatial memory.” What does your brain need to function normally? Beyond the nutrients from the food you eat, beyond the oxygen you breathe, beyond the water you drink, there’s something else, something equally as important: it needs other people. Normal brain function depends on the social web around us. Our neurons require other people’s neurons to thrive and survive.David Eagleman’s wide-ranging roundup of the current state of knowledge about the brain is concise, accessible and often very surprising. It’s a strange new world inside your head.” – Brian Eno The audiobook version I have is also read by the author; which is a nice touch that I always appreciate. The Brain was an exceptional short presentation. I will most definitely be reading more from this author in the future. The book is the perfect example of science effectively communicated. The formatting of the book is also very well done. It is broken into well-defined chapters; each chapter into blurbs of writing with relevant headers at the top. I really like books formatted in this manner, and find it optimal for absorbing the information presented.