Secret Language of the Mind: A Visual Inquiry into the Mysteries of Consciousness

by David Cohen

Offers exciting insights into the inner world of human consciousness, addressing questions that have intrigued philosophers, psychologists, & laypeople for centuries. Cohen explores the basic processes of perception, thought, & memory -- as well as emotions, personality, & intelligence. A guide to the scientific knowledge that helps understand what it is to be fully human, this book also delves into the fascinating mysteries of consciousness that still await explanation. With insights from art, literature, anatomy, chemistry, & computer science that have contributed to our current knowledge of consciousness, the book offers a compelling glimpse into our most uniquely human attribute. Striking, full-color artwork throughout.

Genres: Nonfiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1996

About the author

Librarian Note: There are more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Pvw · Rating 2 out of 5]

A popular psychology book with far too many pictures. The nice thing about this kind of overview book is that it touches on a very wide range of topics that you’d otherwise only encounter in specialised works focusing on a tiny corner of the field. The downside is that the editors seem to have decided that every subject must be wrapped up in exactly two pages, four at the very most. Add the illustrations on top of that, and you’re left with a depressing lack of substance.

Just when a topic starts to become interesting, you turn the page and you’re suddenly thrown into something completely different. The book covers just about every theory of human thought imaginable, from the strictly materialist (evolution, neurons, and the like) to the intangible (psychoanalysis and even alleged paranormal abilities), and from the micro level (cells) to the macro level (society and sociology). Quite a lot, right?

And yet, once you close the book, you realise you haven’t actually learned a single thing.

[Elise · Rating 4 out of 5]

More of a fancy text, summary text book, or reference book, but it's beautifully done and has good info. Not really a straight through read, though.

[Melissa S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful, interesting, and very informative read! This book covered a lot of different subjects about the human mind, but manages to give you great information on it all. If you are interested in learning how amazing the human mind really is, start with this book!

[Georgia Roybal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had a lot of information and nice visuals and was an understandable discussion of many aspects of our minds.