by V. S. Ramachandran
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Product Description
A brilliant, wryly humorous, brief tour of the human mind built on first hand experience with patients and a dazzling research career. This long awaited new book by V.S. Ramachandran is akin to the bestselling works about patients by Oliver SacksWhat is body image? Why do we blush? What is art? What is free will? What is self? Until recently, these questions were the province of philosophy, but studies of the brain are now producing explanations based on research anyone can see for themselves in PET scans and MRI images. Neuroscientists such as V.S. Ramachandran are now unlocking the key to what many have considered the metaphysics of our consciousness. This knowledge of the brain has progressed so rapidly few have yet recognized it for what it is. It will change how we think of human beings, even our very notion of understanding. This is a revolution, already underway that will have impact on all our lives. But until this book, topics such as art, creativity and love have received very little attention from neurology and new findings have not been offered in an approachable way. Dr. Ramachandran presents new theories and experiments that illuminate the biggest questions we can ask. Picking up where the great earlier thinkers like Freud, and Darwin began, V.S. Ramachandran and his colleagues are forging a whole new science. Walk through a final frontier of human knowledge with the perfect, eloquent, expert guide on this unique brief tour.
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Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Humble yet Authoritative , 2008-10-27
Ramachandran - an expert who wisely side-steps the aura of a guru - offers a humble yet authoritative tour of the mind. With notable humanism, Ramachandran given an evolutionary benefit of the doubt to a variety of neurological conundrums (synesthesia, etc.) by examining their evolutionary functional utility, and, in passing, offers a wealth of intriquing hypothesis about the origins of self, language, and art.
The "Brief Tour" is, indeed, brief and effectively laconic. And that is its strength: Ramachandran doesn't overwhelm - his essays are breezy and non-exhausting, with a great balance of fact and discussion, and a smattering of existentially poignant questions and glimpses of the cosmic.
The chapter on neuroaesthetics/the neurophysiology of art (with his 10 "universal" neuro-underpinnings of art) is an intriquing treasure trove (for understanding topics ranging from erotica to advertizing)!
Pavel Somov, Ph.D., author of "Eating the Moment: 141 Mindful Practices to Overcome Overeating One Meal at a Time" (New Harbinger, 2008)
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Fascinating reading for anyone interested in the mysteries of the mind, 2008-10-10
Though it doesn't give you outright answers to the mysteries of the mind, this book, written by the expert in the field, will certainly give you much to think about! It talks about a bunch of different neurological diseases and how they affect cognitive function, and what that tells us about normal cognitive function! It's an interesting, quick read, similar to the likes of Oliver Sacks' books, but not as repetitive. I recommend it to anyone, science background or not.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Awesome book - easy read, 2008-09-15
Dr. Ramachandran has taken the world of nueroscience to common people. The language is easy to understand and the flow is very good. The book consciously stays on the medical side of things, not delving into spirituality. It is often easy to do that especially when dealing with brain, mind and consiousness, and with his eastern background. On the other hand, I wouldn't mind trying to relate to some of the wellknown concepts in spirituality (like the soul) and seeing if there is any relevance in extending some of his neuro/brain concepts there.
There are a few speeches Dr. R gave that is in youtube and TED. Especially the TED one is a good abridged version of this book. One gets the impression while you read this book that there are 100 other researches that can be performed on the brain to understand better on how things work (eg. details on sleep is very less known, dealing with certain pains that don't seem to have any origins etc)
Again, very well written book, and I am hoping he is working on more interesting research and books soon.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Scintillates with Profound Implications, 2008-08-31
This book is short and not tightly structured- but here it hardly matters. You could spend hours thinking about the profound implications of each short chapter- or even some paragraphs. Ramachandran has the confidence of genius, and writes with an appealing kind of low key brashness. Shorter and more cursory than his more famous "Phantoms in the Brain", yet manages to survey even wider horizons. Definitely a book to provoke amazing thoughts.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Brief but interesting, 2008-03-27
The "Brief Tour" part of the title is accurate, as this book is a relatively quick read. It jumps between interesting case studies and Ramachandran's theories which still await experimental evidence. He freely admits as much, but makes a strong case for his theories as is. A worthwhile read.
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