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183 reviews for:
The Psychopath Inside: A Neuroscientist's Personal Journey into the Dark Side of the Brain
James Fallon
3.26 AVERAGE
183 reviews for:
The Psychopath Inside: A Neuroscientist's Personal Journey into the Dark Side of the Brain
James Fallon
3.26 AVERAGE
informative
slow-paced
His ego bleeds through the pages. The approach Fallon took in writing this book was just a bit self-centered rather than constructive and educational.
This was a mess of confusing neuroscience mixed randomly with memoir style tidbits about his life. There was no clear timeline.
I was like a moth attracted to a candle: torn between the repulsing realization that the writer is probably an asshole that could harm me and yet attracted to his charm and humor.
The autobiography is a quick read and well organized. Although some information was repeated, the context was sufficiently different that it didn't bother me. The narrative was strong and I found myself rooting for the main character (the real James Fallon). I was especially touched by the story of his romance with his wife - despite the brutal mention later on that his love may be more admiration for a brain he could never quite figure out rather than real love. I highly recommend reading this book in parallel to "Conscience" by Patricia Churchland, as they complement each other.
I found myself annoyed at times by the author's firm belief in "nature" vs "nurture" (and at time wondered how could a smart person who has made it so far in academia could be such an idiot). At the end, however brief, he had to admit the importance of nurture - in the absence of which his life trajectory may have ended up completely different (and tragic).
It was in the last 15 minutes of the audio-book when it hit me: the person James Fallon describes is a mirror image of one of my friends. Identical down to political views. It creeped me out, yet I felt empowered by the realization. (I always knew there was something off about my friend and was slowly putting distance between us already). A quick advice the author included about how to engage a functioning psychopath and remain safe therefore became invaluable.
Ironically, until the end I considered the book is a ~ 4.5 stars, which should be rounded down to 4. The humor, frankness and admissions in the last chapter convinced me to round it up instead to the perfect score.
I'm sure the psychopath inside James Fallon is proud.
And I'm even more creeped out of what I've allowed him to do to me. :)
The autobiography is a quick read and well organized. Although some information was repeated, the context was sufficiently different that it didn't bother me. The narrative was strong and I found myself rooting for the main character (the real James Fallon). I was especially touched by the story of his romance with his wife - despite the brutal mention later on that his love may be more admiration for a brain he could never quite figure out rather than real love. I highly recommend reading this book in parallel to "Conscience" by Patricia Churchland, as they complement each other.
I found myself annoyed at times by the author's firm belief in "nature" vs "nurture" (and at time wondered how could a smart person who has made it so far in academia could be such an idiot). At the end, however brief, he had to admit the importance of nurture - in the absence of which his life trajectory may have ended up completely different (and tragic).
It was in the last 15 minutes of the audio-book when it hit me: the person James Fallon describes is a mirror image of one of my friends. Identical down to political views. It creeped me out, yet I felt empowered by the realization. (I always knew there was something off about my friend and was slowly putting distance between us already). A quick advice the author included about how to engage a functioning psychopath and remain safe therefore became invaluable.
Ironically, until the end I considered the book is a ~ 4.5 stars, which should be rounded down to 4. The humor, frankness and admissions in the last chapter convinced me to round it up instead to the perfect score.
I'm sure the psychopath inside James Fallon is proud.
And I'm even more creeped out of what I've allowed him to do to me. :)
Useful neurological insights and science is contained within, along with some interesting theories. The personal history and journey is required and should have been there, it's just unfortunate that there is too much 'fat' within it (i.e. Pretty mundane and subjective 'me' verbiage to wade through) that the Editor should have trimmed.
This book us exactly what it says it is - a personal Journey.
He discussed how he got into studying Psychopathy and how he discovered and studied his own behavior and emotions after he discovered his brain scan. He also talked about his family history, his childhood and his partner.
Its indeed very interesting story, it gave an insight of a non-serial Killer psychopath. it proved that Psychopath doesnt mean criminal right away.
I learnt a lot about psychopathy, James Fallon as well as myself.
He discussed how he got into studying Psychopathy and how he discovered and studied his own behavior and emotions after he discovered his brain scan. He also talked about his family history, his childhood and his partner.
Its indeed very interesting story, it gave an insight of a non-serial Killer psychopath. it proved that Psychopath doesnt mean criminal right away.
I learnt a lot about psychopathy, James Fallon as well as myself.
Okay, this book was fascinating... but not in a good way. In the beginning, I was like, "Oh, this guy is fine, he's got some interesting points". But as the book continued, I learned to despise the author, with his discussions of women "mating" and talking about how he left his grandson for dead in his house and was upset when his daughter blamed him for it. He also says something about how he broke into people's houses and stole cars, and follows that with it being an "innocent childhood thing". This guy is confusing, and the second half of the book was a hate-read.
The subject was very interesting, but the narrator sounded like a computer program.
The subject was very interesting, but the narrator sounded like a computer program.
informative
reflective
medium-paced