Incognito
The Secret Lives of the Brain
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3.7 • 283 Ratings
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
If the conscious mind—the part you consider to be you—is just the tip of the iceberg, what is the rest doing?
In this sparkling and provocative new book, the 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 hear your name being 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 names begin with J more likely to marry other people whose names begin 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, synesthesia, criminal law, artificial intelligence, and visual illusions, Incognito is a thrilling subsurface exploration of the mind and all its contradictions.
Customer Reviews
Incognito
An easy to read, thought provoking book that left me wondering who or what am I?
Insightful and rewarding page turner
I found this book to be a wonderful, deeply delightful journey into a topic of great fascination to me - the human brain. This is the best of Oliver Sacks and Malcolm Gladwell combined into one author. Highly recommended.
Fascinating read worth all of the five stars!
Eagleman does an absolutely outstanding job distilling a fairly complex range of topics into a fabulous easy read for anyone interested in the human mind. In a very down-to-earth style, he explores the history of man's understanding of the brain, the scientific underpinnings of today's neuropsychological and neurophysiological theories and the practical socio-legal aspects of our collective treatment of the conscious and subconscious. In what would easily lend itself to become lost in the argot of the underlying concepts, he utilizes interesting case-studies and examples that just keep the pages turning.
(So basically it's a really cool book on the conscious and subconscious minds. Get it.)
The eBook really capitalizes on the iPad's abilities in the illustrations. Totally worth the money. Loved it.