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Incognito: The Secret Lives of The Brain

Incognito: The Secret Lives of The Brain

by David Eagleman (Author)

  • Used

    Hardcover 2011

    $4.39
Synopsis

'A stunning exploration of the we behind the I. Eagleman reveals, with his typical grace and eloquence, all the neural magic tricks behind the cognitive illusion we call reality.' Jonah Lehrer If the conscious mind - the part you consider you - is just the tip of the iceberg, what is the rest doing? In this sparkling and provocative new book, renowned neuroscientist David Eagleman navigates the depths of the subconscious brain to illuminate surprising mysteries: Why can your foot move halfway to the brake pedal before you become consciously aware of danger ahead? Why do you notice when your name is mentioned in a conversation that you didn't think you were listening to? What do Ulysses and the credit crunch have in common? Why did Thomas Edison electrocute an elephant in 1916? Why are people whose name begins with J more likely to marry other people whose name begins with J? Why is it so difficult to keep a secret? And how is it possible to get angry at yourself - who, exactly, is mad at whom? Taking in brain damage, plane spotting, dating, drugs, beauty, infidelity, synaesthesia, criminal law, artificial intelligence and visual illusions, Incognito is a thrilling subsurface exploration of the mind and all its contradictions.

$4.39

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More Information

Format: Hardcover
 Pages: 272
 Publisher: Canongate Books Ltd
Published: 07 Apr 2011
ISBN 10: 1847679382
ISBN 13: 9781847679383

Media Reviews
[An] entertaining and truly brainy front-line report from the neuroscience labs... I guarantee it'll change the way you think of yourself * * Mail on Sunday * *
A fun read by a smart person for smart people... It will attract a new generation to ponder their inner workings * * New Scientist * *
Eagleman engagingly sums up recent discoveries about the unconscious processes that dominate our mental life. . . . [He] is the kind of guy who really does make being a neuroscientist look like fun * * New York Times * *
David Eagleman's lobe-spangling new study of how thoroughly our genetic make-up, deep-lying subroutines and chemical changes can affect the submerged mind gives dizzying up-to-the-minute insight as to just whose hand is really on the tiller. . . Incognito is a fascinating book that will not so much turn your mind upside down as flip it right-side up. You'll never hear the phase You don't know what you're doing! in the same way again * * Time Out * *
Breezy, fun, optimistic and full of the latest research * * The Sunday Times * *
A dream to read... I couldn't resist telling people about a couple of things I read here -- Brian Clegg * * Popular Science * *
Witty, bright, sharp and unexpected... as surprising a book as I've read for years. Every story is a new Heaven -- Brian Eno
Readers may discover much to appreciate - not least the lives they are living now... quirky, occasionally unsettling... never short of new new ideas, all of them rolled out with style -- Nicholas Tucker * * Independent * *
Eagleman provides an excellent overview of the workings of our most vital organ -- Ian Critchley * * Sunday Times * *
***** I was completely immersed. Eagleman writes well and has brought together great stories from the wild shores of neuroresearch, taking a field that is enormously complex and creating a clear path through it... A book that will stay with you -- Michael Mosley * * BBC Focus * *
A shining example of lucid and easy-to-grasp science writing -- Laurence Phelan * * Independent on Sunday * *
A well-written popular science book, with a clear narrative, friendly explanations that respect both the lay-reader's intelligence and their ignorance, and a plethora of weird facts that make you nudge the person next to you and say 'Listen to this!' -- Brandon Robshaw * * Independent on Sunday * *
Contains startling revelations. . . beginning with the awesome and shadowy power of the subconscious * * The Times * *
You will learn a great deal that is fascinating from Incognito * * Guardian * *
A popularizer of impressive gusto . . . [Eagleman] aims, grandly, to do for the study of the mind what Copernicus did for the study of the stars. . . Incognito proposes a grand new account of the relationship between consciousness and the brain. It is full of dazzling ideas, as it is chockablock with facts and instances * * New York Observer * *
A bold argument, and perhaps just the beginning of the debate * * Sunday Herald * *
Eagleman's style is accessible and easily understood * * Press Association * *
A fascinating and engaging look at the nature of consciousness... Eagleman brings a concise prose style, historical research and the latest scientific thinking to a book that will have you re-examining the nature of personality and identity * * Big Issue * *
Lyrical, unpretentious, always compelling * * Sunday Telegraph * *
Eagleman explains scientific ideas with exemplary clarity * * Spectator * *
The Malcolm Gladwell of brain science * * Independent * *
He has a gift for communicating complicated ideas in an accessible and friendly way - Brian Cox with an American accent * * Seven, Sunday Telegraph * *
Original and provocative... A smart, captivating book that will give you a prefrontal workout * * Nature * *
Eagleman has a talent for testing the untestable, for taking seemingly sophomoric notions and using them to nail down the slippery stuff of consciousness * * The New York Times * *
Appealing and persuasive * * Wall Street Journal * *
Your mind is an elaborate trick, and mastermind David Eagleman explains how the trick works with great lucidity and amazement. Your mind will thank you * * Wired * *
Author Bio
David Eagleman is a neuroscientist at Baylor College of Medicine, where he directs the Laboratory for Perception and Actions as well as the Initiative on Neuroscience and Law. His scientific research is published in journals from Science to Nature, and his neuroscience books include Live-Wired: The Shapeshifting Plasticity of the Brain and Wednesday Is Indigo Blue: Discovering the Brain of Synesthesia. He is also the author if an internationally bestselling book of fiction, Sum: Tales from the Afterlives.