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dda9's review against another edition
3.0
If neuroscience sounds interesting to you...you're probably a little odd and you will enjoy this book. Johnson effectively teaches about the mind without relying on jargon that baffles the reader. Of course, as a first trip into brain science, the book is a brief and flitting survey of many topics, but I found it fascinating. One of the lessons I learned is that our memory, and even how our brains process information, is bound and heavily guided by emotion, and emotion can shape what we learn and how we learn. Recommended for anyone interested in neuroscience, psychology, or a users guide to brains. One caveat: since this is the first book I've read about neuroscience, I can't say how accurate the information is.
headrook's review against another edition
2.0
Read like a magazine article. Light reading, but I expected less of a personal narrative and more referenced studies. He provided notes at the back, but it didn't complement the main text as it should have — it felt like the notes provided an excuse for not writing about the the subject in depth. It did have some interesting parts though. However, if I really wanted further information, I suspect I'd have to read a book by one of the scientists he references.
ttayfel1997's review against another edition
5.0
I read this book over the summer for my AP Psychology class. This book set a precedent for everything I learned during my AP Psychology class. It opened my mind (no pun intended) and was actually a pretty good read.
thehappybooker's review against another edition
5.0
Forget free will! Free will is an illusion. I'm convinced that we are about 90% programmed, hard-wired to do what we do based on neuroscience and conditioning by events and genes. You think you make your choices? No, your gut bacteria give you cravings. Your genes push you mightily toward one preference rather than another. Your culture provides a framework within which you function. Your amygdala tells you what to feel, and how deeply to feel about it. You are a bundle of predetermined actions. About 90% of what you do is totally predictable, and probably even a higher percentage if we had more data.
This book is a bit dated now, but it's a very readable exploration into neuroscience.
This book is a bit dated now, but it's a very readable exploration into neuroscience.
aezlo's review against another edition
Derivative and a little too similar to other books I've read on the topic.
crowyhead's review against another edition
4.0
This is a really excellent look at how neuroscience relates to our everyday emotional lives. One of the most interesting bits to me was the discussion of the way that we remember trauma. Research now shows that a lot of conventional wisdom about trauma is flat-out wrong; in particularly, this book suggests that if "talking out" a traumatic event reproduces the fear response (increased heart rate, etc.), it may cause the fear produced by the memories to become more firmly etched, not less. This means that talk therapy might not actually be the most effective treatment for survivors, especially if the trauma is recent.
It can be kind of eerie to realize that so much of what we experience emotionally is related to chemicals flowing about in your brain, but I found it fascinating. I'm pretty used to the idea in some ways already, since I take medication to control my depression, but this book has really sparked my interest and I'm planning on seeking out some of the books that he mentions in his excellent footnotes.
It can be kind of eerie to realize that so much of what we experience emotionally is related to chemicals flowing about in your brain, but I found it fascinating. I'm pretty used to the idea in some ways already, since I take medication to control my depression, but this book has really sparked my interest and I'm planning on seeking out some of the books that he mentions in his excellent footnotes.
mogg's review against another edition
4.0
"The legendary phrase from the Reagan years—“This is your brain on drugs”—is ultimately misleading. Your brain is nothing but drugs—or put another way, it would be nothing without drugs. Certainly there is a distinction to be made between those that are endogenous and exogenous, between natural and artificial, but the fundamental truth is that artificial drugs work because your brain mistakes them for natural ones. Right now, as you read these words, you are under the influence of chemicals that are, molecularly speaking, almost indistinguishable from drugs that could get you arrested if you consumed them openly in a public place."