Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain by neuroscientist David Eagleman. One cannot help but ponder how interesting a class on neuroscience and cognitive behavior would be if taught by David Eagleman? He is an adjunct professor at Stanford University.
There are certainly several instances throughout the book where I was catching myself laughing out loud. Yet, there are segments where the dark side of the brain’s human behavior is brought into light. Indeed, it is like experiencing a David Lynch movie.
Likewise, David provides deep insights to various parts of the brain and has selected a worthy collection of stories.
I found the fourth chapter, “The Brain Is a Team of Rivals” certainly the most fascinating of the book. In this chapter David is addressing the brain under duress. Subsequently multiple unique experiences resulting in the brain’s changing state of processing reactions. For this reason I find the book such a refereshing read.
Will the true Mel Gibson Please Stand Up?
This segment addresses in lengthy detail how the brain holds hidden memories. On the other hand, this well publicized arrest and anti-semitic statements is providing a lot of details to ponder.
I am Large, I contain multitudes
Above all, this segment brings into focus the invention of Artificial Intelligence in the 1960s and the work by Marvin Minsky and the development of robots. It was certainly interesting to learn how leading scientists almost fifty years ago began outlining what we have now accepted as machine learning and AI and how the brain can be programmed by computers.
A Time for Math, A Time to Kill
This section is addressing how the brain qualifies the value of life with another example of the runaway train is a much deeper view of the brain’s choice and applying priorities.
In another section, “Why the Devil can sell you fame now for your soul later.” I again confront the analysis of research by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky. This was a feature of many books that I read last year and welcome again seeing an acknowledgment of their work. Daniel’s book Thinking Fast and Slow is simply an amazing book.
In conclusion, David is proving our brains are the source of amazing insights. Yet our conscious controls are seemingly not within our control to program. However, David is providing great stories to reveal recent research has very much opened new ideas to our brains.
Talks at Google | The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing Brain
Knopfdoubleday | How Much We Control Our Brains
WheelerCentre | The Creative Brain