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Deviate: The Science of Seeing Differently
by
Beau Lotto, the world-renowned neuroscientist, entrepreneur, and two-time TED speaker, takes us on a tour of how we perceive the world, and how disrupting it leads us to create and innovate.
Perception is the foundation of human experience, but few of us understand why we see what we do, much less how. By revealing the startling truths about the brain and its perceptions, ...more
Perception is the foundation of human experience, but few of us understand why we see what we do, much less how. By revealing the startling truths about the brain and its perceptions, ...more
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Hardcover, 352 pages
Published
April 25th 2017
by Hachette Books
(first published February 7th 2017)
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Start your review of Deviate: The Science of Seeing Differently
About everything and nothing at the same time. Not the ultimate mix for a pop science.
It's not such a big surprise that seeing things differently is useful, if you think about it for a sec.
Some subjects could have been made interesting if they were more in-depth, we are not 6-year olds, after all, and this is supposed to be a book not a TED TALK. ...more
It's not such a big surprise that seeing things differently is useful, if you think about it for a sec.
Some subjects could have been made interesting if they were more in-depth, we are not 6-year olds, after all, and this is supposed to be a book not a TED TALK. ...more
Quite interesting and inspiring - don't we all want to find the secret formula that enables us to 'deviate', differentiate, be special...?! I do believe however that Lotto overreaches when he tries to apply his neuroscientific knowledge to everything from raising children to running a company to creating your personal happiness, solving conflicts and managing your romantic relationships. But I admit that this broad perspective, with many stories from outside the neuroscientific field, is also wh
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Given that the subtitle of the edition that I read was "The Creative Power of Transforming Your Perception", I was anticipating some practical ideas and exercises to help generate creativity and originality, enabling me to escape my everyday preconceptions. No such luck. Just abstractions, anecdotes, and generalizations. Here are some things I do in order to generate creativity and to break down my preconceptions: Read books written by and about people not like me, people whose world is differen
...more
By creating a new perceptual past, new perceptions in the future can be created. This is the central idea of the book. In the book, there are at least fifteen interesting themes, which I have liked the most.
1. Uncertainty
Resolving uncertainty is a unifying principle across biology, and thus is the inherent task of evolution, development and learning…Uncertainty is the problem that our brains evolved to solve (p. 8). Our brain evolved to take what is inherently uncertain and make it certain (p. ...more
1. Uncertainty
Resolving uncertainty is a unifying principle across biology, and thus is the inherent task of evolution, development and learning…Uncertainty is the problem that our brains evolved to solve (p. 8). Our brain evolved to take what is inherently uncertain and make it certain (p. ...more
Unlike many reviewers, I wasn't inspired by this. There is some good info on perception, but I found it lacking in practical ways to really fuel creativity. Sure, the unusual formatting is cool, but that's not enough to make a great book.
...more
*Disclaimer: I was provided with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
My first impression of this book were that it is very colourful and looks unusual, flicking through the pages, there are many hand drawn images and pictures in different parts of the page, and the text often varies in the formatting and layout, making it 'quirky and different'. I understand this is so the book can appeal to non-scientists and visually demonstrate the ideas the book discusses, but as a scie ...more
My first impression of this book were that it is very colourful and looks unusual, flicking through the pages, there are many hand drawn images and pictures in different parts of the page, and the text often varies in the formatting and layout, making it 'quirky and different'. I understand this is so the book can appeal to non-scientists and visually demonstrate the ideas the book discusses, but as a scie ...more
Sushant Singh Rajput, the young Indian actor committed suicide. It affected me a lot. Why would a successful person with a bright future ahead of him take his life? I tried to read about him. And I found that unlike other typical movie stars, he was an introvert, deeply interested in subjects such as the meaning of life, philosophy, cosmos and the like. I found that he had created a book club on Twitter and had shared list of books that he was reading. This was the first book that I found in the
...more
Meh. This would be better as a series of videos. The author makes some good points about adaptability and diverse teams. Don’t know how much of this I’ll have retained by this time next year. Really not sure how this will help in day to day problem solving, let alone the kind of breakthrough thinking of people mentioned in this book.
Boom! Consider my mind blown! So much to learn! Oh so much! I loved the explanation, logic, and rationale but I really need my friends to read this so I can talk about it! I have a whole new perspective on my every day - things I think I may have already known but never consciously considered. This book will have lasting power on me (and my classroom)!
The author (and voice on the Audible book) is mesmerizing in his command of the subject, delivery, and enthusiasm. If you've watched TED talks, he's a classic TED-like speaker. You need to pay attention while listening as he often makes the most important points just once, some of which are quite obvious but others (that come later in the book) that are more subtle. A few of my favorite points are as follows:
- Your perception is not reality and is based on the vast number of assumptions you have ...more
- Your perception is not reality and is based on the vast number of assumptions you have ...more
Amazing book, written by an amazing guy! Some part, around the midway through the book, it gets bit naggy. Excluding that, I think its a very good base point to understanding human brain functionality, and a very enjoyable experience through out the whole book.
Title: Deviate – Seeing Reality Differently
Author: Beau Lotto
Genre: Science, Physics
Length: 332 pages
Price: Rs. 399
Summary:
The book is based on human psychology and how our brain works. Its a book which depicts how a person assumes things and thinks that is the reality which maybe different.
My Take:
The book describes perception in detail. The example quoted here was the viral post of dress where everybody could interpret different colour of the same dress. It proves that every individual sees th ...more
Author: Beau Lotto
Genre: Science, Physics
Length: 332 pages
Price: Rs. 399
Summary:
The book is based on human psychology and how our brain works. Its a book which depicts how a person assumes things and thinks that is the reality which maybe different.
My Take:
The book describes perception in detail. The example quoted here was the viral post of dress where everybody could interpret different colour of the same dress. It proves that every individual sees th ...more
I listened to the audiobook while commuting and enjoyed many sections of it, but I think I missed out on a lot by not having the accompanying visuals for many of the thought experiments. There's an accompanying PDF you can download apparently but I never got around to it. I love his "Lab of Misfits" concepts, which creates kinds of experiential-public-art-neuroscience-perception games & experiments. A neuro-scientist and philosopher, Lotto definitely has a gift for sharing very complicated ideas
...more
This was the greatest waste of reading time that I expended over the last year. Lotto seems to like using the phrase "space of possibilities" as a placeholder for all kinds of things that enlightened people select their great choices from. Apparently by recognizing that everything you think about your existence is wrong you will then be able to choose the correct path in life. In particular, I was a bit disappointed by the description of the African doctors recognition that shipping an Ebola pat
...more
Deviate starts off with the author saying he hopes you'll end the book thinking you know less than when you started... he was completely right on the dot with that.
This book was such a difficult book to digest - Beau, a neoroscientist, has so many ideas about the many ways the brain works in different situations - often they are contradictory to how we currently believe it to be. ...more
This book was such a difficult book to digest - Beau, a neoroscientist, has so many ideas about the many ways the brain works in different situations - often they are contradictory to how we currently believe it to be. ...more
Why did I read this. Interesting, but mostly obnoxious.
Rarely has a book stirred my thinking as much, but one needs to bring a lot of patience along, because Beau Lotto tends to go on a bit of a mad-scientist curve at times.
My first pop-science book! Definitely reading more from this genre. This books revolves around much what PLATO insisted with his Allegory Of The Cave. We have to look away from the shadows. Which somewhat also reflects in the words of Nietzsche, a German Philosopher when he wrote, “I want to learn more and more to see as beautiful what is necessary in things; then I shall be one of those who make things beautiful... I do not want to accuse; I do not even what to accuse those who accuse. LOOKING
...more
It is an interesting take on our perception of reality, questioning our senses and how accurate they really are in helping us perceive reality. I found the mix of scientific reasoning along with experiments and observations to explain certain phenomenon such as "phantom limb" and "the dress" quite enjoyable. It might get a little repetitive or constrained at a certain point, but it well researched and documented. The interesting facts "here and there" about how our senses differ from other human
...more
This is popular science at its best, the book is fun and easy to read yet intellectually stimulating. My mind feels as if it has had an invigorating workout after reading. It is clearly aimed at the mass market, attempting to make the latest discoveries in neuroscience available to all.
The fundamental premise of the book is that we may think that we see reality, but we don’t. Beau Lotto is open about his aim from the outset, which is to change the way you see the world and how you act within it. ...more
The fundamental premise of the book is that we may think that we see reality, but we don’t. Beau Lotto is open about his aim from the outset, which is to change the way you see the world and how you act within it. ...more
Lotto challenges the very fabric of my existence. Since the first chapter I’ve already started questioning my consciousness, my actions, and generally my life. He challenges our perception of life and our creative ability; he makes his theories somewhat easy to understand but does not water down the subjectivity of human psychology. Just an example of this is his science behind free will. Lotto expresses that free will could not exist in the present because our brain is making decisions for us m
...more
There's some interesting stuff in this book - particularly in the early chapters where Beau Lotto is talking about perception. We think we see reality, but in fact our perception is an approximation based on feedback about what has been useful in the past. The central theme is that by changing our "future past" we can influence our own inner feedback and make ourselves more open-minded and creative. That sounds like it's straying into the murky waters of self-help, but he never really delivers o
...more
During the first few chapters, I was a bit skeptical. I mean "red" is "red," even if it could be called something else - there are properties and characteristics that make it "red." As the book progressed, I started to understand Lotto's point better. Lotto gives promotes awareness and gives us insight into the way our brain works to make meaning out of the world around us. Some readers mention that the book lacks practical advice as to exactly how to deviate and think more creatively. While tru
...more
Super interesting. The crux of the book seems to be that because your understanding of the world, or reality, is via your sensory perception,your experience of reality is an illusion that you yourself construct.
In fact, your sense perceptions always ultimately come between you and any ability to experience an objective reality.
So your experience of reality is a construction of your own mind, your cultural assumptions as well as many millennia of evolutionary assumptions.
Understanding this allows ...more
In fact, your sense perceptions always ultimately come between you and any ability to experience an objective reality.
So your experience of reality is a construction of your own mind, your cultural assumptions as well as many millennia of evolutionary assumptions.
Understanding this allows ...more
Under the genre pop sci it is what it is, popular culture easy to read, thin on facts and high on analysis and opinion. That is okay, it is well researched, well referenced, and makes very interesting points about how we can change, shock our sense of perception. It got a total of maybe 100 words highlighted from me, not a great percentage for a non-fiction book. The visual games are limited in their enhancement of the message and seem more illustrative than functional, trying to convey a pictor
...more
The gimmick behind this book is that you can't see reality. He is especially fond of Bishop Berkeley and his philosophy for making this "discovery". The whole book is a misapplication of studies into self-help pep talks far beyond their scopes. The chapter would start "The rats that walked into the darkest part of the maze were shown to learn the solution quicker" and in the next paragraph conclude "And that is why you must confront your fear of the unknown". His claim that we don't see reality
...more
Neurology and creativity combined into one nifty little book. Taking a couple of ideas from the book, I wrote a New Year's Resolution/Narrative column for our local paper. Probably the best take I've read on the neuro-biological finding that free will is an illusion of our consciousness. Hint: Creating narratives with our brain is what gives us free will. And what better place for narratives than Goodreads?
...more
Strange! Thankfully I was listening to this book read by the author and not reading it. I do not believe I could have finished in any other form. I listened through it and said "HUH" so I listened back to front to see what I had missed. Then I watched the author's TED talk-- not any better. I believe it said if any one ask you "Why?" you should answer "Why do you think?" What you think is not really what you think-right?
...more
I've became aware of Lotto about 18 months ago instantly became a fan. I was fortunate to meet him recently when he spoke at my company after this book came out. The title says it all. If you're fascinated, as I am, with how we as humans process the world around us and perceive our "reality" this is the book for you.
...more
This book was a disaster. Long routes of platitudes that kept promising something real but avoided doing so at all costs. Scientific and historical facts were mangled way out of context in order to support the author's viewpoint, but worst of all was the fact that he's seems almost afraid to actually carry a message. The whole thing was a large disappointment.
...more
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| Goodreads Librari...: Please add Dutch edition of Deviate. The Science of Seeing Differently | 3 | 11 | May 18, 2018 01:21AM | |
| Goodreads Librari...: Cover image update | 4 | 28 | Mar 27, 2017 08:08AM |
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