10 Voyages Through the Human Mind: Christmas Lectures from the Royal Institution

Christmas Lectures from the Royal Institution

by Catherine de Lange

The third in a series of books in association with the Royal Institution on their world-renowned Christmas Lectures, this time exploring the intriguing pathways of the human brain and the complexities of the mind.Following on from the success of 13 Journeys Through Space and Time and 11 Explorations into Life on Earth, this third book in the series takes a look at the staggering capabilities of the human brain through twelve of the most revealing Christmas Lectures on the subject given at the RI over the last two centuries.Undoubtedly the most complex material in the universe, the human brain makes us who we are, but how it works and why has long been a mystery. Through this series of fascinating lectures, spanning over a hundred years, experts in the fields of psychology, neurology and biology examine the workings of our most important organ, revealing a hidden and complex world.

224 pages, Hardcover

Published February 1, 2020

Reviews

[Honey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I missed Royal Institution events during lockdown year, although I’m glad the 2020 Christmas Lectures focused on the Earth, and it was quite an awesome one in terms of diversity, with Professor Chris Jackson as the first black scientist to present since its inception in 1825.

What a time for STEM, and what a time to learn.

Re-living sessions from the past with the third instalment to the book series. This one is a nice enough introductory book for those who want to discover more about how the mind works, illustrating experiments set on stage during the past lectures. Also a reminder that there is so much more to learn and to discover in the world of neuroscience.

[e · Rating 5 out of 5]

a journey of discovery that made me wonder just how blurred the lines between science and philosophy truly are in the pursuit of knowledge and understanding. a book for the ever-curious through which i learned that our tongues can sense light as well as taste, we see more with our minds than with our eyes, brains 'prune' unused skills and traits, perception is ultimately an illusion in which we fill objective gaps of reality with subjective assumptions, and finally that there is scientific backing to the phrase "think with your heart".

[Gergő Érdi-Krausz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice, easy introduction to some popular topics in neuroscience, but it really lacked depth in a lot of areas - makes sense once I realised the Christmas Lectures are for kids...