Idiot Brain: What Your Head Is Really Up To 1st Edition, Kindle Edition

The subject matter is interesting and footnotes allow the reader to evaluate the source of the information. But the author’s attempts to explain concepts to the lay reader are marred by illogical metaphors and sloppy thinking. Giving everyone a medal for turning up on Sports day does not devalue the sport. It devalues the medal. Noisy cars are not per se less efficient than quiet cars. Engine noise is usually about mufflers. Efficiency is about fuel consumption relative to performance. There may or may mot be a correlation. I enjoy the bits of the book dealing with information on the brain but irritated by the sloppy metaphors. It is an oherwise interesting read. So I am giving this three stars: worth reading nut not the best in the genre.

Stumbled across this in a sleep deprived 4am random internet browsing session. Read a couple of pages, got the book, a few chapters in now. ... Now I don't trust my brain nearly as much anymore. And I don't know if I'm better for it. My one go-to for all the answers in life turns out has been lying to me for years. .. It's certainly an entertaining read, and puts quite a knot in your trust in the brain. If you're in a fine agreement with your brain, and want to keep the blind trust, don't pick up the book. But if you wish to find another thing in the world to question the "good intentions" why not ask your brain "why you doing this" pick up the book and ruin that delicate trust between yourself and your brain! xD

As a neurologist I have spent many years studying the brain and its foibles, but I have rarely read such an entertaining and frankly brilliant description of how the brain works.

As a neuro-layman and an avid collector of quotes, I enjoyed Dean's neuroscience review, which was filled with his interpretive & opinionative thoughts. Examples of his "bits of wisdom" for my collection include.......- "Science is the work of humans. By and large, humans are messy, chaotic and illogical creatures (due largely to the workings of the human brain) and much of science reflects this."- "The brain is still an internal organ in the human body, and as such is a tangled mess of habits, traits, outdated processes and inefficient systems. In many ways, the brain is a victim of its own success; it’s evolved over millions of years to reach this current level of complexity, but as a result it has accrued a great deal of junk, like a hard drive riddled with old software programs and obsolete downloads that interrupt basic processes."- "Sadly, the words “reliable” and “accurate” can rarely be applied to the workings of the brain, particularly for memory. The memories retrieved by the brain are sometimes comparable to a hairball coughed up by a cat, the product of a lot of alarming internal mangling."

The author provides convincing prove that our brains modify our memories to make us the hero or central character in every human interaction. Of course, it's not possible in any interaction with one person or many that one person's opinion or contribution is automatically superior to others, but each person thinks that is the case. Our brain is like a bad computer program that arbitrarily modifies the data before it writes to disk.

Prior to reading Burnett's book I heard him interviewed on NPR. The quirky sense of humor he displayed translated well into the book, creating a pleasant mix of scientific review and lighthearted banter. In this, I believe Burnett underscored his primary theme - this stuff is crazy and we really don't understand it very well. I appreciate the reviews that struggled with his style - it doesn't take long to pick up his rhythm and sense when the next joke is coming. But in that pattern lies just another brain mechanism. Clearly I enjoyed the book and tolerated the style. My one suggestion would be to limit the very specific references to brain anatomy. I'm not a brain surgeon and would have related to the physiology lessons better if the jargon were reduced. I'm sure the areas of the brain he identifies are technically correct, but I don't need to know the locations at a resolution required to perform laser surgery - I would have been just as informed with the lobotomy version.

First, with a five star rating I obviously enjoyed it. I'm not exactly sure if there is a particular target audience for this book but suspect many may get bogged down in unfamiliar vocabulary unless they have a biology or psychology background, which I do. But, I do not think that type of background is necessary to enjoy this book and only mention it if you cringe at the thought of any discussions involving brain anatomy and neurotransmitters; the author is a funny neuroscientist after all so it should be expected.The book is well written with humor effectively used to make important points. It is an easy read that I enjoyed on a cruise. I found it to be a very good summary of what is currently understood in human biology/psychology as it relates to our behavior and think it would be excellent mandatory reading toward the end of an undergraduate degree program. The simplicity and humor in all the chapters demonstrates how well the author understands the material and certain he would be a delight to listen to in person.Great book!

I read Happy Brain first (by the same author) and enjoyed it so much that I bought Idiot Brain too. The most enjoyable part of the books is the author's (very British) humor and casual writing style. These aren't deep or technical books, but they're a fun way to learn a bit about the whats and whys of totally normal human behavior.

Dean Burnett is a neuroscientist with a sense of humour. In The Idiot Brain he attempts to describe the inner workings of our minds in a way that we can understand… that is, as far as anyone can understand. Burnett makes no apology about how little even ‘experts’ really know about the functioning of the brain.If the human brain were so simple that we could understand it, we would be so simple that we couldn't.Burnett uses the above quote to illustrate just how little is truly known about the organ that makes us what we are. But he goes bravely on to explain, in a brilliant way with words, what is known, or thought to be known.The book is divided into chapters covering the various areas of the brain; the senses, fear, attempts to measure intelligence, memory and what can happen when things go wrong. It is an interesting and, at times, sobering read, despite Burnett’s sometimes hilarious turns of phrase. As someone with a loved one who has suffered a neurological/psychological disorder for the last four years, I know the frustration and heartbreak that such problems can bring. As I said before, for me, the most abiding message in this excellent book is that, despite research pushing the boundaries, so much still needs to be understood.I enjoyed The Idiot Brain; I felt I learned something from it. Dean Burnett is a delight. In his introduction he tells us,A former colleague once told me that I’d get a book published ‘when hell freezes over’. Sorry to Satan, this must be very inconvenient for you.I am glad he persevered.

So, I’m not sure if this review is from me or someone within or without (ok the pun isn’t as good as Deans!)I accidentally found this book (and yet to read “the clever brain”) so wasn’t sure if I’d understand /be interested/have the time/have a life, to read this book.However I am truly delighted that my second sense decided to press “buy now or Dean will track you down” as this truly is an impressive read.I would write more, however my inner me is telling me to get a life and fill the glass with Montrachet!Superb bookI demand more.

The Idiot Brain is a witty and informative look at our brains. Dean Burnett is a neuroscientist with a sideline in comedy, so he is the perfect person to explain how the human brain works - at least as far as the current research can say. He's particularly interested in its foibles and oddities - and where possible explaining how they have come about. It's all fascinating, but I found the sections towards the end about empathy and addiction particularly interesting.Highly recommended if you want a book that's going to teach you something as well as make you smile.I'm thoroughly looking forward to reading The Happy Brain soon.

A truly brilliant book. Clearly written so that the uninitiated can understand. He does use the big words, but he explains them in very plain english, and with a sense of humour. I am currently recommending this book to everyone that I meet. I would especially recommend this to any student about to undertake any modules that cover neurology to read before ( and probably alongside the recommended dry , technical text books).It is an enjoyable read as well as an educational one. He covers the glitches that exist in normal brain functioning and ends with explaining what happens when the brain is not functioning as it should. He also explains why I understand so much more while I am reading the book, but am now unable to quote directly from it..Well worth the money.

This had been chosen as my latest bookclub book. It was thought to be a light introduction to science. The blurb describes a few situations that felt very familiar, when our brain seems to let us down. Maybe it would be interesting to find out why.There are lots of technical terms but they are all introduced in a way which gives context without ever patronising the reader (well it didn't patronise me!).Some sections were much more interesting to me than others (for example my attention wandered off while reading about superstitions but came back when the narrative turned to phobias) but that is to be expected in a nonfiction book. Whenever I lost focus, I would skim a few paragraphs and everytime I was quickly pulled back in.I found it to be a very accessible read with many of the theories clarifying my existing beliefs and knowledge. This meant that I was comfortable with the new information that I picked up from the author and believed his opinions with little cynicism. I also felt very relaxed with his chatty style where we seems to address the reader as an individual.There was many studies quoted to back up the theories and to explain how the theories evolved in the first place - some of these I already knew (e.g. the Stanford prisoner experiment) but many were new to me.Having finished it I have found myself quoting various sections to people I talk to which means it must have sunk in. I think I would like to read it again sometime as I suspect that my memory could do with a refresher.