Books › Seven and a Half Lessons about the Brain
Seven and a Half Lessons about the Brain
192 pages
A brisk, mind-expanding tour through the gray blob between your ears that shatters popular myths about human behavior.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like sitting down with a brilliant, approachable scientist eager to blow your mind in the most delightful way. The pace is brisk and inviting, structured as a series of slim, bite-sized essays that make complex neuroscience feel effortlessly digestible. It cultivates a mood of pure, mind-expanding curiosity, gently dismantling long-held myths like the lizard brain or the battle between emotion and logic, and replacing them with awe-inspiring truths about human behavior. The prose is entertaining and accessible, never bogging the reader down in dense academic jargon. It is the perfect read for anyone who wants to understand the machinery of their own experience without committing to a heavy textbook, leaving you feeling enlightened and newly fascinated by the gray blob between your ears.
- Mood
- curious
- enlightening
- mind-expanding
- Tone
- accessible
- entertaining
- informative
- myth-busting
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- the nature of the mind · human behavior · scientific myth-busting · brain evolution
- The writing
- Slim, accessible, and entertaining, breaking down complex scientific concepts into bite-sized, digestible essays.
- The arc
- Moves from everyday curiosity about human behavior to a profound, myth-shattering appreciation for the mind.
- Who it's for
- Curious readers seeking a quick, engaging, and scientifically grounded demystification of how their own head works.
About the book
Have you ever wondered why you have a brain? Let renowned neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett demystify that big gray blob between your ears. In seven short essays (plus a bite-sized story about how brains evolved), this slim, entertaining, and accessible collection reveals mind-expanding lessons from the front lines of neuroscience research. You'll learn where brains came from, how they're structured (and why it matters), and how yours works in tandem with other brains to create everything you experience. Along the way, you'll also learn to dismiss popular myths such as the idea of a "lizard brain" and the alleged battle between thoughts and emotions, or even between nature and nurture, to determine your behavior.
Description from Open Library.
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