Idiot Brain: What Your Head Is Really Up To in Science and Inquiry

Jul 15, 2017 David Rubenstein rated it it was amazing

Shelves: biology, health, psychology, evolution, nonfiction

Dean Burnett is a neuroscientist. He writes a regular blog for The Guardian, called Brain Flapping. And his writing style is not just entertaining, it is spirited and humorous and faithful to the science as well. Oh, and did I mention that he is a stand-up comedian? He signs his name "Dean Burnett, Ph.D. (no, really)"

While most of this book is about psychology, he grounds quite a lot of his discussions in descriptions of the parts of the brain that are responsible for different actions. And, I Dean Burnett is a neuroscientist. He writes a regular blog for The Guardian, called Brain Flapping. And his writing style is not just entertaining, it is spirited and humorous and faithful to the science as well. Oh, and did I mention that he is a stand-up comedian? He signs his name "Dean Burnett, Ph.D. (no, really)"

While most of this book is about psychology, he grounds quite a lot of his discussions in descriptions of the parts of the brain that are responsible for different actions. And, I learned a lot from this book, and actually, a lot of very useful things. Here I just scratch the surface of what I learned.

Short-term memory can hold only up to four items, and lasts less than a minute. Anything more than this is actually part of long-term memory. When trying to remember things, context is very helpful--both internal as well as external context. For example, if you are on a drug (even alcohol) when learning something, recalling it at a later time is easier if you on the same drug. The brain encodes memories slightly differently if you are slightly intoxicated.

Burnett does scatter sarcasm throughout the book, but it is in good fun. For example, at the end of the section about the ego bias of memory, he writes, "The upside of this is, even if you don't quite understand what's been written here, you'll probably remember that you did, so it all ends up the same regardless. Good work."

And here is one of my favorite quotes of all time: "I'm also part of the great conspiracy of global scientists to promote the myths of climate change, evolution, vaccination, and a spherical earth. After all, there's nobody on earth wealthier and more powerful than scientists, and they can't risk losing this exalted position by people finding out how the world really works."

It is so interesting how Burnett explains why know-nothings often win arguments and are believed. He writes that empty vessels make the most noise. People who are self-confident are most believed. Politicians are great at this. The smarter a person is, the less confident in their views, and the less they are trusted. Anti-intellectualism is due to the brain's egocentric bias or "self-serving" bias and the tendency to fear things. Someone who seems more intelligent is perceived as a threat. A physically fit person is easy to understand--they just go to the gym more. But someone who is more intelligent is an unknowable quantity, and the "better safe than sorry" instinct triggers suspicion and hostility. People with low intellectual abilities lack the ability to recognize that they are bad at something, so they are unjustifiably high in self-confidence. They have only their own experiences to go from, and cannot perceive what it is to be considerably more intelligent. It works the other way, too. Intelligent are more aware that they don't know everything, so that undercuts their self confident.
The general consensus is that by the mid-20's, our brains are fully developed. Brain training games do not boost general intelligence. If you play them enough you can get better at them--but not better at anything else.

I was amazed by the description of patients with aphasia, who cannot understand language. Nevertheless, in an experiment they found humor in a president's speech. Robbed of the ability to understand language, they develop their ability to decipher nonverbal cues. They can recognize from numerous facial tics, body language, rhythm of speech, and elaborate gestures, exactly when the president is lying!

And here is another fascinating tidbit, having to do with the "Social Brain Hypothesis". We evolved big, complex brains as a result of human friendliness and complicated relationships. We want to believe that the world is fair. When we see a victim of something terrible, the brain doesn't like dissonance, so we have two options: conclude that the world is cruel and random, or that the victim did something to deserve it. While believing the victim is responsible is crueler, it allows us to keep our nice cozy assumptions about the world, and we blame victims for their misfortune. "Our brain is so concerned with preserving a sense of identity and peace of mind that it makes us willing to screw over anyone and anything that could endanger this. Charming."

Again, I highly recommend this book to anyone who would like to read a serious book about psychology and the brain, but with more than just a dash of humor. ...more

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Jun 15, 2017 GONZA rated it liked it · review of another edition

If you don't have any background in Neuroscience this is the perfect book for you, because it doesn't indulge in overtechnicism but it still gives you the right amount of information needed to have a whole comprehension of the subject. In my case it was a little bit too easy but still an enjoyable reading.

Se non avete nessun background sull'argomento, questo libro é perfetto perché non indulge in tecnicismi dando contemporaneamente il giusto numero di informazioni per avere un quadro completo di ...more

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Mar 28, 2022 Paul Perry rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: british-author, non-fiction, male-author, science, read-in-2022, welsh-author

A introductory, but informative and engaging, book on how our brains work - and the problems that the evolutionary kludges of these process often cause. Burnett writes in a styles that is conversational and often very funny.

The audiobook was well read by Matt Addis, a great choice as his Welsh accent fits the metre of the author's style perfectly. ...more

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Nov 05, 2018 Nicola rated it really liked it

Interesting, informative and occasionally challenging around our notions of having free will and being smart creatures. The edition I read was full of typographic errors, though, and seems to have been printed from a proofing copy. Still, worth a look.

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