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epersonae's review
3.0
An intriguing collection of essays on 19th & 20th century artists & writers and their connections to (or foreshadowing of) psychology and neuroscience. Fascinating both for the personal histories and for the science. What's stuck with me is both the weirdness of perception and the malleability of the brain. FWIW, that second bit actually brings me a lot of hope and comfort.
Even as a writer, I got annoyed after a while with the touches of "oh some things can never be explained" (I'm paraphrasing badly) bits. Felt a bit hand-wavey.
Still, quite interesting.
Even as a writer, I got annoyed after a while with the touches of "oh some things can never be explained" (I'm paraphrasing badly) bits. Felt a bit hand-wavey.
Still, quite interesting.
shawnwhy's review against another edition
5.0
this was super interesting. about how artists in teh 19th and erly 20th centry predicted advanced int eh brain sciences.
new thing learned:
neruogenesis is impeded by alot of stress
learning new patterns creates euphoria and treats depression
memory could also be created by mRNAs that constructs proteins according to DNA.
new thing learned:
neruogenesis is impeded by alot of stress
learning new patterns creates euphoria and treats depression
memory could also be created by mRNAs that constructs proteins according to DNA.
teribrick14's review
5.0
I'm not that far in, but so far have learned that the concept of "phantom pain" from amputated limbs was noted by Walt Whitman, while assisting in a Civil War hospital, long before the medical community recognized it as a legitimate condition.
margaret_j_c's review
Really delightful introduction to some of the fascinating ways in which art and science interact. I am sick to death of the phrase "eminently readable" but if I were to use it, it would be in this review.
lamusadelils's review
2.0
Me molesta un poco la forma en que se plantea la idea acerca de que los artistas van adelantados a la neurociencia porque se pueden encontrar observaciones relacionadas al funcionamiento del cerebro en el arte de muchos. Parecería mas bien obvio, dado que son las personas que observan el comportamiento de la gente las que descubren como funcionamos y es a partir de ideas obtenidas del sentido común como se llega a las teorías científicas. Lo único que me dicen las afirmaciones del autor es que el interés por el funcionamiento del cuerpo, el cerebro y la mente ha existido desde hace mucho tiempo.
Otra cosa que no me convence mucho es la insistencia del autor en que el arte es un lenguaje mas humano que la ciencia, mas conectado a los sentidos. Estoy segura que hay muchos que ven la ciencia como reduccionismo puro, pero también habemos otros que encontramos mas belleza en el estudio de las neuronas que en tratar de descifrar el significado de una pintura abstracta. Solo es cuestión de perspectiva.
Dicho todo esto, es interesante analizar las obras de artistas tan variados desde los ojos de las neurociencias y las observaciones de Lehrer son bastante sensibles en esta area.
Me habría gustado mas el libro si no pintara una línea tan gruesa entre arte y ciencia.
Otra cosa que no me convence mucho es la insistencia del autor en que el arte es un lenguaje mas humano que la ciencia, mas conectado a los sentidos. Estoy segura que hay muchos que ven la ciencia como reduccionismo puro, pero también habemos otros que encontramos mas belleza en el estudio de las neuronas que en tratar de descifrar el significado de una pintura abstracta. Solo es cuestión de perspectiva.
Dicho todo esto, es interesante analizar las obras de artistas tan variados desde los ojos de las neurociencias y las observaciones de Lehrer son bastante sensibles en esta area.
Me habría gustado mas el libro si no pintara una línea tan gruesa entre arte y ciencia.
liviwn's review against another edition
5.0
Each chapter focuses on an artist and how their art preceded understandings of the brain that neuroscience can now explain. From memory to music to language. My favorite was on Auguste Escoffier and taste. He ‘discovered’ a molecule, glutamate (in the process of making veal stock) that produces a flavor outside of salty, sweet, bitter or sour.
jclare2's review
5.0
I really loved this book. Then again, I am a geek. Anyone who is a dedicated RadioLab listener will recognize many of the stories of neuroscience that Lehrer tells, as several have been featured on that program, as has Lehrer. And actually, as a reader, this is a good thing. It's kind of like when you'd hit a new topic in a class in school and you'd already had some experience with that topic from somewhere else, so you didn't have to start from ground zero. And with tough content, that's helpful. It was like that. RadioLab was the preview, and the book took me deeper. And, most interestingly, the book connects the neuroscience with the work of related artists. For me, the science geek, that added a new dimension and depth, learning about science and art at the same time.
But the part that made me really love this book was the Coda at the end. As someone whose recent work has been in an arena called "public engagement with science" and "public understanding of science," and who is becoming familiar with pros and cons of the current set-up and conventions of this world, I think Lehrer's arguments about what is missing in society in this area is right on the money. And he says it so much more articulately than I could. I want to make copies of it and pass it around at every science education conference I go to from now on (you know, if that weren't a blatant violation of copyright law, of course).
Note: "Read" as an audiobook. (I'm doing a lot of road trips these days.) Actually, it was well-suited to audio, since it was similar to RadioLab in so many ways (my usual road trip fare). Perhaps not the best way to commit all of the details of neuroscience to memory, but an engaging way to keep one's brain active on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
But the part that made me really love this book was the Coda at the end. As someone whose recent work has been in an arena called "public engagement with science" and "public understanding of science," and who is becoming familiar with pros and cons of the current set-up and conventions of this world, I think Lehrer's arguments about what is missing in society in this area is right on the money. And he says it so much more articulately than I could. I want to make copies of it and pass it around at every science education conference I go to from now on (you know, if that weren't a blatant violation of copyright law, of course).
Note: "Read" as an audiobook. (I'm doing a lot of road trips these days.) Actually, it was well-suited to audio, since it was similar to RadioLab in so many ways (my usual road trip fare). Perhaps not the best way to commit all of the details of neuroscience to memory, but an engaging way to keep one's brain active on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
andreiz's review
3.0
Pretty good popular science book with the premise that the art realized some truths about our brain, perception, and self before the science did. While entertaining and fairly educational overall, several chapters ramble on gingerly supported by nebulous connections. The author also has a tendency to insert quotations from the artists, but they aren't always apropros – this is especially evident in the chapter about Virginia Woolf. My favorites chapters were the ones about Auguste Escoffier, Igor Stravinsky, and Paul Cezanne.
rachelleahdorn's review
5.0
This book was amazing! You should read it.
I sorta knew some of the stories that were discussed, but somehow the book made them more important and more interesting.
I sorta knew some of the stories that were discussed, but somehow the book made them more important and more interesting.