Science

Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain

Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain

  • Downloads：8425
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-05-28 10:51:21
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Lisa Feldman Barrett
  • ISBN：1529018625
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Summary

From the author of How Emotions Are Made， a myth-busting primer on the brain in the tradition of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics and Astrophysics for People in a Hurry。
 
Have you ever wondered why you have a brain？ Let renowned neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett demystify that big gray blob between your ears。 In seven short essays （plus a bite-sized story about how brains evolved）， this slim， entertaining， and accessible collection reveals mind-expanding lessons from the front lines of neuroscience research。 You’ll learn where brains came from， how they’re structured （and why it matters）， and how yours works in tandem with other brains to create everything you experience。 Along the way， you’ll also learn to dismiss popular myths such as the idea of a “lizard brain” and the alleged battle between thoughts and emotions， or even between nature and nurture， to determine your behavior。
 
Sure to intrigue casual readers and scientific veterans alike， Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain is full of surprises， humor， and important implications for human nature—a gift of a book that you will want to savor again and again。
 

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Reviews

Alice Lippart ，

Really interesting！

Mark ，

I really did enjoy this book。 It made me realize how little I know and understand my body， thoughts and the subtle impact of our constant， daily interactions on our brains。 The book includes lessons on human brain evolution，reality，dreams， the "reptile brain"the debate on nature vs。 nurture， free will and personal responsibility。 These brief lessons build on eachother and though it is neuroscience， much of the subject matter is accessible to the non-scientist。 I now have a deeper understanding a I really did enjoy this book。 It made me realize how little I know and understand my body， thoughts and the subtle impact of our constant， daily interactions on our brains。 The book includes lessons on human brain evolution，reality，dreams， the "reptile brain"the debate on nature vs。 nurture， free will and personal responsibility。 These brief lessons build on eachother and though it is neuroscience， much of the subject matter is accessible to the non-scientist。 I now have a deeper understanding and appreciation for my brain。 。。。more

Paul Baker ，

Absolutely brilliant rethinking of what the brain is， what it does， and where it came from。 Written in simple language， it explains logically why we have been so wrong in our assumptions about the brain and the workings of the mind。 Highly recommended！

Musfiq Shohan ，

This was an interesting book for me。 Sometimes i really enjoyed it and learned new stuffs。 Sometimes struggled to understand and couldn't understand that much。 However it is a good book and worth reading。 This was an interesting book for me。 Sometimes i really enjoyed it and learned new stuffs。 Sometimes struggled to understand and couldn't understand that much。 However it is a good book and worth reading。 。。。more

Stacy Lee ，

Love neuro， quick easy read

Paige McLoughlin ，

Fairly good short brain book。 At the intro level a mix of neural network and learning and cognitive science。 It kind of parallels developments in machine learning and artificial intelligence working off of similar insights as well as some social learning theory stuff。

Joe ，

Hard to knock but lacking。 If you've ever read anything on neuroscience you don't need to read this。 It is an extremely informal and breezy 125 pages on the brain and psychology。 Good primer but if you're looking for more go for books by Dennett， Kaku， Kahneman， or Eagleman。 Or， other writings from Lis Feldman Barrett because she is a great writer and one of the world's foremost neuroscientists。 Hard to knock but lacking。 If you've ever read anything on neuroscience you don't need to read this。 It is an extremely informal and breezy 125 pages on the brain and psychology。 Good primer but if you're looking for more go for books by Dennett， Kaku， Kahneman， or Eagleman。 Or， other writings from Lis Feldman Barrett because she is a great writer and one of the world's foremost neuroscientists。 。。。more

Jo Larkin ，

Mildly interesting though I don't think I learned anything life changing。 Mildly interesting though I don't think I learned anything life changing。 。。。more

Angela Kitchen ，

Beautifully written， concepts that are clearly articulated and new learning in every lesson

Ehsan Gazar ，

Easy to read which simply talks about our brain， what makes us kind of different from others， and at the end of this book you will know how little we know about our brains。 1） You have one brain （not three）: Some people believe in more， but certainly， we have one brain that controls our body2） Your brain is a network: Really complex set of neurons that are connected together and at the same time is so flexible。3） Little brains wire themselves to the world: Humans are different in terms of the fi Easy to read which simply talks about our brain， what makes us kind of different from others， and at the end of this book you will know how little we know about our brains。 1） You have one brain （not three）: Some people believe in more， but certainly， we have one brain that controls our body2） Your brain is a network: Really complex set of neurons that are connected together and at the same time is so flexible。3） Little brains wire themselves to the world: Humans are different in terms of the first months of their birth， they can't even walk， or take care of themselves， compared to other animals， which is also ironic because our brain develops itself in the connection to its sourranding。4） Your brain predicts （almost） everything you do: Best survival instinct we have is to predict， our brain's job is to predict what threat is coming first， like in an hour we will be hungry or if that falls， what can happen next。 Maybe we should call ourselves best predictors。 5） Your brain secretly works with other brains: We are influencing each other in ways that we are not in control of。 so much to discover probably in the future。6） Brains make more than one kind of mind: Every brain is unique and complex enough to create completely different minds and personalities for every person7） Our brains can create reality: Our brains are also so complex because of their capacity to think in abstract terms， that we created social constructs which govern our everyday lifeSimple book and I recommend it to anyone who wants to know more about his/her brain。 。。。more

Lisa ，

This is a very clear and clever way to package cognitive science 101 lectures to make them accessible to the general audience。 Her examples were excellent。 I’m surprised she did not choose to include the classic animal studies we always introduce in these lectures but this is packaged well。

Elentarri ，

I was expecting to learn something new， but didn't。 This book is superficial， overly simplistic， tedious， and is peppered with the author's political opinions。 My brain kept trying to skim over huge swaths of this book。 I was expecting to learn something new， but didn't。 This book is superficial， overly simplistic， tedious， and is peppered with the author's political opinions。 My brain kept trying to skim over huge swaths of this book。 。。。more

Brian Mikołajczyk ，

Psychologist Lisa Barrett describes how the brain works in terms of neural synapses and interconnectivity from modern experiments。 There are a lot of misconceptions about how the brain is partitioned including the triune brain first proposed by Plato and later expounded by Carl Sagan。A great read！

Alexander ，

Fascinerende！

Dani ，

This book is composed of essays about the brain， it’s concepts， evolution， and how it works especially with survival。 Kind of repetitively talks about body-budgeting and how it’s important for survival which I don’t really mind。 I loved the part where she talked about how the Triune brain and why it’s a modern myth in the world of neuroscience。 As a student in the psychology field， I’d say some topics were not new to me。 Though she never failed to surprise me with new facts and information。 I en This book is composed of essays about the brain， it’s concepts， evolution， and how it works especially with survival。 Kind of repetitively talks about body-budgeting and how it’s important for survival which I don’t really mind。 I loved the part where she talked about how the Triune brain and why it’s a modern myth in the world of neuroscience。 As a student in the psychology field， I’d say some topics were not new to me。 Though she never failed to surprise me with new facts and information。 I enjoyed reading this book。 I think this if you’re starting to learn about the brain and its wiring， this is a good book to start with as she explained topics in a simple manner。 。。。more

Giulia Mastroberardino ，

Cute！！

Allison Chang ，

Interesting， and thoughtful- but not captivating。 Flew through this in one sitting on a car ride and was deeply immersed and corrected some preconceived notions I had about evolutionary neuroscience， but a lot of the real takeaways I would need to refer to my highlights/notes to keep with me。 Nonetheless， a worthy if not mind-blowing （literally） read

B ，

Succinct， enjoyable， and full of important information on our brains and how best to live with them。

Beth O' ，

No me gusta non-fiction

Adam ，

I've read about brain science before， and this book is a solid entrant into the pantheon。 Simple to read and understand， the lessons are clear and concise， with plenty to take away。 For those new to reading about brain science， this book could function as a reasonable introduction。4 stars。 Highly accessible。 A deeper understanding of how our brains are constructed （and function） really should lead to being more willing to change our perceptions。 I've read about brain science before， and this book is a solid entrant into the pantheon。 Simple to read and understand， the lessons are clear and concise， with plenty to take away。 For those new to reading about brain science， this book could function as a reasonable introduction。4 stars。 Highly accessible。 A deeper understanding of how our brains are constructed （and function） really should lead to being more willing to change our perceptions。 。。。more

Sara ，

3 stars。 Very readable book about the brain and it’s functions。 The occasional digression into politics was unexpected and detracted from the rest of the content。

Tutankhamun18 ，

Fantastic book that gives an introduction to brains in general and the human brain in particular， in a way that is accessible， interesting and relevant for the general audience。 This book does not give you an overview of where neuroscience is currently at。 What it does do is tell you， based on where neuroscience is currently at， what you need to understand in order to be a socially and politically aware user of a brain。 It reveals what poverty， overgeneralization， racism， misinterpretation of se Fantastic book that gives an introduction to brains in general and the human brain in particular， in a way that is accessible， interesting and relevant for the general audience。 This book does not give you an overview of where neuroscience is currently at。 What it does do is tell you， based on where neuroscience is currently at， what you need to understand in order to be a socially and politically aware user of a brain。 It reveals what poverty， overgeneralization， racism， misinterpretation of sensory input and our socially constructed world can do to our human brains and why。 Such an important read for EVERYONE with a brain。Lesson p。5: The point of brains is to manage allostasis。Lesson 1: All organisms have one brain。 The various clusters of neurons develop for varying lengths of time， which is what creates differences in brain size。 Lesson 2: Your brain is a network of 128billion neurons， complexity is added by number of connections。Lesson 3: Babies are born with brains that are ready to learn the culture into which they are born。 Many connections are created and especially pruned after birth。 Babies are born with more potential connections than they end up with once brain is fully formed -> easier to lesrn languages as a baby。 This saves cultural learning from having to be encoded in our dna。Lesson 4: Your brain understands sensory information （input） in terms of context by predicting what you will see/hear/taste/experience in a particular setting。Lesson 5: Brains work in response to cues from other brain; we help each other regulate body budgets。Lesson 6: The brain tells us when something is wrong with the body budget。 The mind reacts to this。 There are many different types of minds。Lesson 7: We all live in a world of social reality that only exists inside our human brains。 In order for this to function we need creativity， communication， copying， cooperation and compression。 Compression is the summary of all inputs to the brain and their understanding， their abstraction。 。。。more

Aaron ，

Listened to the narration。 Very slow but doable at literally 1。75x。A little too much of a contrast for me between complex topics and the goal of describing them so simply and with such plain language。 I'm not sure it works that well。 Listened to the narration。 Very slow but doable at literally 1。75x。A little too much of a contrast for me between complex topics and the goal of describing them so simply and with such plain language。 I'm not sure it works that well。 。。。more

Steve ，

Very short， ok I guess， but I didn’t see much of anything new or any kind of different take on understanding brains。 A fine intro really， if you haven’t read much about the topic。

Lindsey ，

The author did a great job of explaining the science behind how the brain works。 It was very interesting to learn more about how our brains are affected by others。

Santosh Shetty ，

Simply one of the best books I've read this year。 Every para made me pause， wonder， think about implications and possibilities。 Entire book is bathed in fluorescent yellow。 A power packed book。 Simply one of the best books I've read this year。 Every para made me pause， wonder， think about implications and possibilities。 Entire book is bathed in fluorescent yellow。 A power packed book。 。。。more

Kevin Marshall ，

Facts you should learnThere's a lot of assumptions when we think about thinking。 What's the purpose of the human brain？ Or all brains？ Budgeting。 This book explains how & why。 Facts you should learnThere's a lot of assumptions when we think about thinking。 What's the purpose of the human brain？ Or all brains？ Budgeting。 This book explains how & why。 。。。more

Dan Chancellor ，

A fascinating and easy-to-digest introduction to neuroscience and the wonderful world of the brain。

Mark ，

Ok - a little disappointed in the end by Feldman’s writing and conclusions。。。lest me puzzled as to where she was going。

Zuza ，

Short and sweet， mind blowing at times

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0