The Tell-Tale Brain: A Neuroscientist's Quest for What Makes Us Human

by V. S. Ramachandran

Paperback, 2012

Status

Available

Call number

616.8

Genres

Collection

Have Read

Publication

W. W. Norton & Company (2012), Edition: Reprint, 384 pages

Description

Ramachandran--the "Marco Polo of neuroscience"--reveals what baffling and extreme case studies can teach us about normal brain function and how it evolved. Among the topics he discusses are synesthesia as a window to creativity and autism as a springboard to understanding self-awareness.

Media reviews

New York Times

"{T}he book is packed with other evidence that neuroscience has made illuminating progress in recent years. Reading such accounts of exactly what our brains get up to is apt to leave one with the disconcerting thought that they are often a lot cleverer than their owners realize. "

User reviews

LibraryThing member snash

I was set to be totally enthralled but ended up disappointed. In the beginning the author seemed to be viewing and thinking very broadly across numerous disciplines and making startling and insightful conjectures. With time, certain blind spots became evident. He pooh poohed psychoanalysis using an

antiquated picture of it when it could have been easily encompassed as one of several ways to enhance connections between neurons. Considering that it often works, it should be incorporated into a picture of how the brain works. Also as he got to more speculative topics, his leaps of conjecture were made on such flimsy evidence that it didn't seem worth making them.

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LibraryThing member flydodofly

Although he lost me in several places, I always managed to get back on track. Great fun, both the brain and the author.

LibraryThing member vguy

Clear, thought-provoking, frontier work, sometimes moving about the gradually unfolding mystery of what humans are - and even funny in places. Central theme is mirror neurons; he makes a good case for looking at the detail (reductionist) in order to explain the everyday observable levels of

behaviour. Top brain book of the last few years, I'd say.

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LibraryThing member MarkBeronte

director of the Center for Brain and Cognition at UCSD, explores why humans, who are "anatomically, neurologically and genetically, physiologically apes," are not "merely" apes. While animals can communicate with sound and gesture, and chimpanzees can even use words to express immediate needs,

humans have developed the ability to speak in structurally complex sentences, and often speak in metaphor. Ramachandran speculates that, as we can map another's actions and intuit their thoughts, we also map our own sensory apparatus, perceiving our surroundings—and perceiving ourselves perceiving our surroundings. We imagine the future and speculate about the past and seek to understand our place in the universe, laying the foundation for our the sense of free will; we not only envisage future actions, but are aware of their potential consequences and the responsibility for our choices. Richard Dawkins has called Ramachandran "the Marco Polo of neuroscience," and with good reason. He offers a fascinating explanation of cutting-edge-neurological research that deepens our understanding of the relationship between the perceptions of the mind and the workings of the brain

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LibraryThing member mrgan

Breezy, fun, and very insightful tour of new discoveries in neurology, with an Oliver Sacks-ian focus on interesting neurological disorders, and on mirror neurons. Ramachandran writes (and thinks) in an affable, optimistic, folksy way. This would sound annoying in a pure pop-science writer, but

Ramachandran is an experienced researcher, and his examples and explanations have that quality of instant clarification. In a single throwaway remark, he can open a very wide door of interest. (Would watching a horror movie stop a panic attack? Are puns the opposite of metaphors?)

One slightly unfortunate side effect of his casual, playful tone is that he often reaches for humor—which is fine in itself, but his jokes are quite bad. They're grade-A uncle-joke material, corny and slightly inappropriate in a way that makes you want to go "yeeeah we don't say that anymore". Ramachandran isn't quite as caring and sensitive as Sacks in his attitude toward his patients, but he seems sensitive enough that I'm sure he's a nice dude. I just wish he'd lay off the wonky jokes.

Another slightly problematic area is his attempt at analysis of the building blocks of art and art appreciation. He ties them to basic aspects of visual processing: symmetry, contrast, etc. and some higher-level stuff (metaphor). This is all fine, and I'm in agreement; however, he stops a bit short, only noting in passing other qualities of art (such as ego and social effects). This is partly due to a focus on visual art; true, we humans are visual creatures, but not exclusively so. It could be neat if Ramachandran approached music and literature with the same neurologically-minded mind. Like 'Musicophilia', but a bit more academically strict.

It's a very fun book to power through, and I'm looking forward to more.

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LibraryThing member GlennBell

The author is a medical doctor with an interest in neuroscience research. He has conducted significant research and conducted experiments on some of his patients. His observations from the research and case studies leads to some insightful concepts. I believe that he is able to see correctly the

function and interaction of centers of cognitive processing in the brain. I found the book educational and insightful. I strongly recommend this book.

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