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250 reviews for:
The Idiot Brain: A Neuroscientist Explains What Your Head Is Really up To
Dean Burnett
3.92 AVERAGE
250 reviews for:
The Idiot Brain: A Neuroscientist Explains What Your Head Is Really up To
Dean Burnett
3.92 AVERAGE
Interesting but I found the technical terms a bit jarring since I had no idea how to visualize where that certain part of the brain might be nor did I found the names useful in the narrative. I would therefore have preferred either not using these terms (after a while I just skipped them) or somehow adding a way to understand what the author was talking about by, e.g., using drawings that indicated the specific part of the brain.
3.5 stars - a readable popular science book filled with enjoyably British snark that covers a breadth of knowledge about the brain.
A quote that made me LOL, related to stress and personal control (pg.277): "Every human is technically a meaningless sack of carbon clinging to a rock hurtling through the uncaring void around trillions of tons of nuclear fire..."
A quote that made me LOL, related to stress and personal control (pg.277): "Every human is technically a meaningless sack of carbon clinging to a rock hurtling through the uncaring void around trillions of tons of nuclear fire..."
What a delightful way to popularise the subject of neuroscience. The book is a great balance between funny and educational. You learn a lot about the biology of the brain, as well as how that biology manifests into our behaviour, personalities, quirks and all. From motion sickness to short term memory, and intelligence to mental illness, the Dean does an excellent job of explaining them all, insofar as todays science can, with clarity and memorable language.
Lots of great stuff in this book. Some fascinating information on mental illness and disorders.
for me, disappointing, as most of it is not new to me, the same old explanations, without adding anything new. however, told in a very engaging and accessible way. the second half got more interesting (manipulative behaviour ) but I'd still only recommend this to teenagers or to those who might be unfamiliar with everyday anomalies (such as jet lag).
If you don't have any background in Neuroscience this is the perfect book for you, because it doesn't indulge in overtechnicism but it still gives you the right amount of information needed to have a whole comprehension of the subject. In my case it was a little bit too easy but still an enjoyable reading.
Se non avete nessun background sull'argomento, questo libro é perfetto perché non indulge in tecnicismi dando contemporaneamente il giusto numero di informazioni per avere un quadro completo di quanto accade nel cervello. Per me era un po' troppo facile, ma é stata comunque una piacevole lettura.
Se non avete nessun background sull'argomento, questo libro é perfetto perché non indulge in tecnicismi dando contemporaneamente il giusto numero di informazioni per avere un quadro completo di quanto accade nel cervello. Per me era un po' troppo facile, ma é stata comunque una piacevole lettura.
An interesting read, but less in there that I feel I could 'use' than I had hoped. Some things seemed a little obvious too, but even then, apparently science doesn't know (Like motion sickness).
Still, overall a decent enough read.
Still, overall a decent enough read.
Interesting and easy to understand, ultimately I wanted something more... helpful? But that's not the book's fault.
A fun read that tackles several aspects of psychology and the brain. I would call it a sampler platter!
This book bored me. There was a wide swath of interesting facts presented without any real, clear thesis. It’s interesting, but tedious.