Mind Wide Open: Your Brain and the Neuroscience of Everyday Life
by Steven Johnson
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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 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 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 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 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 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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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 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 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 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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recommends it for:
curious people, psychology-fans
Johson gives a back door tour of the brain, offering understandable explanations to the reasoning behind our everyday actions and interactions. I found the chapter on autism to be most interesting, especialy in his descriptions of modern solutions to behavioral issues.
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Read in January, 2005
This isn't science per se, rather it's a journalist's journey into the science of the brain, experienced firsthand as Johnson offers his own noggin up to the latest tools of the trade, from MRI scans to biofeedback. Fascinating, but ultimately lacking dramatic insight.
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Read in July, 2007
Steven Johnson, although charming in person (saw him at a YSoA lecture in 2006), comes off slightly smarmy and self-obsessed here. A lot of other people are doing this same pop-neurosci stuff at the moment, and doing it better. Radiolab, anyone?
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Read in May, 2006
You need to read this if you think the brain is all about biology. If you are in a leadership position, you need to check this book out. The brain one of the more important organs and yet we know so little.
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Read in September, 2007
good science writing. personal, accessible and intriguing. The book succeeds in conveying that our experience of consciousness is the result of input from multiple brain 'modules'. A little short, though.
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Read in June, 2007
recommends it for:
Anyone who thinks the brain is cool
This book, an overview of some fascinating current neuroscience research, is an easy, fascinating read, and convinced me that the brain and brain research is just about the coolest stuff ever.
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recommends it for:
myself
I learned that there is a module in our brain that inherently fears snakes...and garden hoses, and vacuum cleaner cords, and anything else that might be mistaken for one.
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Read in March, 2007
A layman's look at what makes us all tick. It did make me feel like a chemically-powered robot at times, but I still enjoyed the very personable presentation.
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Read in June, 2007
Very interesting book. Makes you look at why you make the decisions you do in a new light. I found the section on neurofeedback particularly interesting.
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