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238 ratings, 3.92 average rating, 49 reviews
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published
May 3rd 2005
by Scribner
binding
Paperback, 288 pages
isbn
0743241665
(isbn13: 9780743241663)
description
Given the opportunity to watch the inner workings of his own brain, Steven Johnson jumps at the chance. He reveals the results in Mind Wide Open,...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 400)
If I was to sign up for a religion it would really have to offer me much more than the chance to chant “Holy, Holy, Holy” at the right hand of God for the rest of eternity. One of the things that would nearly sway me would be if it gave me a change to do and be all of the things there just isn’t time in one life to be and do. And if I was converted to this particular religion one of the lives that would be on the top of the list would have to be some sort of brain scientist type person ...more
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I really liked this book. Each chapter focused on a different aspect of the mind. For example, one chapter discussed our ability to "mindread" other people, referring to how we can read subtle cues about a person's mood, whether they are lying, etc. from their facial expressions, tone, etc. and we have no idea we can even do this. He points out that we DO usually sense that we enjoy conversing with some people more than others even when the content of hte conversations is largely th...more
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Read in June, 2007
OLD: some interesting bits, but a little too everyday and wandering for me? but only 1/3 done and won't judge until the end.
NEW:
It feels like Steven Berlin Johnson set out on a quest to understand his own mind, kept a diary about it, and decided to publish it when he reached a conclusion. He doesn't delve too deeply into either the science or the anecdotes, and I lost his train of thought several times. It's a neat exploration, but a bit too self-indulgent to be a really compelling story f...more
NEW:
It feels like Steven Berlin Johnson set out on a quest to understand his own mind, kept a diary about it, and decided to publish it when he reached a conclusion. He doesn't delve too deeply into either the science or the anecdotes, and I lost his train of thought several times. It's a neat exploration, but a bit too self-indulgent to be a really compelling story f...more
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Read in November, 2008
A nice introduction into neuroscience of emotions and social interactions: how and why we become afraid of presumably harmless things and what we can do to overcome these fears, how we "read" other people, neurochemistry of love and attachment etc. An easy to read account of the author's experiences with biofeedback, fMRI etc. and his interviews with prominent neurobiologists and behavioral biologists such as Joseph LeDoux, Antonio Damasio etc. The book is by no means overwhelmed by sc...more
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Read in November, 2008
recommends it for:
non-scientists with an interest in neuroscience
I wanted to get "Ghost Map," but the DCPL doesn't have own a single copy of it. I'm not sure if this is the same Steven Johnson that wrote Ghost Map, but I like neuroscience so I figured I'd check it out. I have to admit that I did not finish this book. I didn't time my wait list at the library well and ended up with a bunch of books at once and this one got pushed to the bottom. What I read was interesting, well-researched, and very comprehensible by the layperson. Maybe I'll che...more
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Read in June, 2005
This is a really excellent look at how neuroscience relates to our everyday emotional lives. One of the most interesting bits to me was the discussion of the way that we remember trauma. Research now shows that a lot of conventional wisdom about trauma is flat-out wrong; in particularly, this book suggests that if "talking out" a traumatic event reproduces the fear response (increased heart rate, etc.), it may cause the fear produced by the memories to become more firmly etched, not le...more
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Read in February, 2008
This is a pretty fascinating book. It gets a little annoying whenever Johnson tries to pimp it out as a self-help book ("learning about your brain can help you!" blah blah), but luckily, it's NOT a self-help book -- it's an informative book about how your brain functions and how he went about exploring (via MRI and neurofeedback, etc.) about how his brain works. (I'm guessing he thought trying to pass it off as self-help would increase his audience?)
The chapter on attention was a t...more
The chapter on attention was a t...more
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Read in May, 2005
Using himself as a subject, Johnson explores the current state of brain/mind exploration, using biofeedback, MRIs and chemical analysis, among other tools. He examines what creative thinking looks like in the brain, improves his facial expression reading skills and comes to grips with his own use of humour as a coping skill, as well as learns why sunny days and high, whistling noises are alert triggers for him.
The first few chapters are the strongest, as they document his experiments on him...more
The first few chapters are the strongest, as they document his experiments on him...more
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Read in September, 2008
An enjoyable foray into the latest findings of psychology and neuroscience. Johnson gently introduces the reader to the wonders of the brain, describing his own encounters of neurofeedback and fMRI imaging. As he describes, these experiences proved enlightening, offering him a fresh self-awareness as he watched chemicals and structures inside his own head in action. While most of us don't have access to this technology, he advocates that we all acquire some basic knowledge of the mechanisms of t...more
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Read in January, 2005
Steven Johnson wanted to know what his brain was doing when he felt/did different things, why he felt/did different things, and to what extent all human brains are the same/different. He went to lots of specialists, got hooked up to various brain-reading machines and wrote this book about his experiences. It was really fun to read and really interesting. Warning: it does offer theories explaining how chemicals in our brain are responsible for all emotions, including love, so if you don't want...more
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Showed a ton of initial promise, then sorta fizzled away towards the end. Overall, a somewhat entertaining, if not terribly in-depth, look at the way the brain works. There are a few "long-decay" ideas, as Johnson would call them, in this book, but if you are picking up this book in the first place, chances are that you have heard of them elsewhere. That said, I did enjoy the book while reading it, I just felt hollow at the end. As though the details weren't flushed out enough, or all ...more
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Read in December, 2007
recommends it for:
people who think they know how to think
Johnson explores the physiology of his own brain and, ergo, ours in this mainstream (i.e., not esoteric) book. His thesis is right: the more we know how our brains actually function, the more control we have over how and what we think and do. Example: Your body continues producing emotional symptoms to a fear or anxiety (like racing heartbeat, sweaty palms, knotted stomach) after your brain has moved onto other tepid topics. Therefore we sometimes *feel* toward subjects that are no longer irre...more
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Read in September, 2006
This is one of those books that makes you think about things you never have to think about. Like why someone looks happy or what does it actually mean to pay attention? A lot more on the pyschology side than the neuroscientific side, this book explores many everyday phenomena that we miss on a regular basis.
Not only does Johnson explore our reactions to our own experiences, but he also tries to explain why, evolutionarily speaking, we function that way.
An interesting look into the bigges...more
Not only does Johnson explore our reactions to our own experiences, but he also tries to explain why, evolutionarily speaking, we function that way.
An interesting look into the bigges...more
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Read in September, 2007
Read like a magazine article. Light reading, but I expected less of a personal narrative and more referenced studies. He provided notes at the back, but it didn't complement the main text as it should have — it felt like the notes provided an excuse for not writing about the the subject in depth. It did have some interesting parts though. However, if I really wanted further information, I suspect I'd have to read a book by one of the scientists he references.
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Read in February, 2005
This was a really enjoyable book on cutting edge neuroscience for the layperson. Like Emergence, Johnson adds enough technical detail to keep it interesting but not so much that it feels like a textbook. It is totally chock full of really neat ideas and you will say something like "Oh, yeah. Cool!" or "That has totally happened to me" often. And if you're not careful you just might learn something, hey hey hey!
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Has a copy to sell/swap
I started reading this book, jumping into the part where he talks about getting his own brain scanned, and it pissed me off. Maybe grad school has made me sour, but I didn't enjoy all of his set up banter and fluff text about how he felt in the tube. I think some of that can be written well, but here it just felt blathery.
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I generally hate pop-science books, but this book is an exception. Johnson makes some interesting connections and presents things in a lucid way, although as is unavoidable in this genre the overly watered-down explanations often bugged me. Made me more interested in neuroscience than I ever had been before.
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Read in August, 2007
a nice tour of trends in neuroscience. Nothing terribly new, but all very accessible. (Except Johnson's mix of reporting and personal musing seemed a little off this time around.) I used to be dismayed that every time I thought of a good book to write Johnson did it. Now I guess I'm glad.
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Read in July, 2006
Engaging, fun inquiry into the brain and how it works. I learned some things about how I think and why. Johnson personalizes what he talks about, and I found that it added to my enjoyment to hear how he applied what he learned to his own life. Not stringently scientific, but worth a read.
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Read in May, 2007
recommends it for:
Fans of Steven Pinker
A little uneven, but interesting. Some sections are more intruging than others, and he only really hits his stride (where you get the best sense of what he's actually trying to accomplish) in the conclusion. Still, a quick and interesting read, with a minimal amount of scienc-y lingo.
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