Books › Livewired
Livewired
352 pages
A thrilling, metaphor-rich surf along the leading edge of neuroscience that will completely change how you view your own mind.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like taking a guided tour through the most complex machinery in the universe with a deeply enthusiastic and poetic scientist as your host. The pace is brisk, carrying you effortlessly from fascinating historical anecdotes to cutting-edge laboratory discoveries. Instead of bogging down in dry clinical jargon, the prose sparkles with vivid metaphors, making the invisible electrical storms of the brain feel tangible and awe-inspiring. The mood is overwhelmingly optimistic and mind-expanding, leaving you with a profound sense of wonder about human adaptability. It is a perfect fit for curious readers who love the intersection of biology, technology, and philosophy, offering a thrilling glimpse into the ever-shifting, living fabric of our own consciousness.
- Mood
- mind-expanding
- awe-inspiring
- curious
- Tone
- enthusiastic
- accessible
- wonder-struck
- authoritative
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- the malleability of self · technological symbiosis · the mystery of perception · human adaptability
- The writing
- Vivid and metaphor-rich, translating complex neurological concepts into highly visual, accessible, and engaging language.
- The arc
- Begins with a sense of curiosity about the brain's mechanics and builds to a profound, awe-inspiring appreciation for human potential and adaptability.
- Who it's for
- Curious minds fascinated by human biology, technology, and the philosophical implications of how we perceive reality.
Content notes
- medical descriptions
- animal research mentions
About the book
“Vivid.... Livewired reads wonderfully, like what a book would be if it were written by Oliver Sacks and William Gibson, sitting on Carl Sagan’s front lawn.” —The Wall Street Journal
What does drug withdrawal have in common with a broken heart? Why is the enemy of memory not time but other memories? How can a blind person learn to see with her tongue, or a deaf person learn to hear with his skin? Might we someday control a robot with our thoughts, just as we do our fingers and toes? Why do we dream at night, and what does that have to do with the rotation of the earth? The answers to these questions are right behind our eyes. The greatest technology we have ever discovered on our planet is the three-pound organ carried in the vault of the skull. The magic of the brain is not found in the parts it’s made of but in the way those parts unceasingly reweave themselves in an electric, living fabric. In Livewired, you will surf the leading edge of neuroscience atop the anecdotes and metaphors that have made David Eagleman one of the best scientific translators of our generation. Covering decades of research to the present day, Livewired also presents new discoveries from Eagleman’s own laboratory, from synesthesia to dreaming to wearable neurotech devices that revolutionize how we think about the senses.
Description from Open Library.
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