Livewired: The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing Brain
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- Create Date：2021-06-17 06:51:08
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：David Eagleman
- ISBN：0307949699
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Summary
"Vivid。 。 。 。 Livewired reads wonderfully， like what a book would be if it were written by Oliver Sacks and William Gibson， sitting on Carl Sagan's front lawn。" --The Wall Street Journal
What does drug withdrawal have in common with a broken heart？ Why is the enemy of memory not time but other memories？ How can a blind person learn to see with her tongue， or a deaf person learn to hear with his skin？ Might we someday control a robot with our thoughts， just as we do our fingers and toes？ Why do we dream at night， and what does that have to do with the rotation of the earth？ The answers to these questions are right behind our eyes。 The greatest technology we have ever discovered on our planet is the three-pound organ carried in the vault of the skull。 The magic of the brain is not found in the parts it's made of but in the way those parts unceasingly reweave themselves in an electric， living fabric。 In Livewired， you will surf the leading edge of neuroscience atop the anecdotes and metaphors that have made David Eagleman one of the best scientific translators of our generation。 Covering decades of research to the present day， Livewired also presents new discoveries from Eagleman's own laboratory， from synesthesia to dreaming to wearable neurotech devices that revolutionize how we think about the senses。
What does drug withdrawal have in common with a broken heart？ Why is the enemy of memory not time but other memories？ How can a blind person learn to see with her tongue， or a deaf person learn to hear with his skin？ Might we someday control a robot with our thoughts， just as we do our fingers and toes？ Why do we dream at night， and what does that have to do with the rotation of the earth？ The answers to these questions are right behind our eyes。 The greatest technology we have ever discovered on our planet is the three-pound organ carried in the vault of the skull。 The magic of the brain is not found in the parts it's made of but in the way those parts unceasingly reweave themselves in an electric， living fabric。 In Livewired， you will surf the leading edge of neuroscience atop the anecdotes and metaphors that have made David Eagleman one of the best scientific translators of our generation。 Covering decades of research to the present day， Livewired also presents new discoveries from Eagleman's own laboratory， from synesthesia to dreaming to wearable neurotech devices that revolutionize how we think about the senses。
Reviews
Lee
，
I liked one of Eagleman's early books （Incognito， maybe？） and kept expecting him to repeat the performance but am just disappointed。 This is a smooth pop-science read but the material just isn't very interesting or original。 I liked one of Eagleman's early books （Incognito， maybe？） and kept expecting him to repeat the performance but am just disappointed。 This is a smooth pop-science read but the material just isn't very interesting or original。 。。。more
Grace Knight
，
This was a fascinating read。 Neuro plasticity is lifelong。 The way our brains have been created is incredible; always adapting， changing， growing， pruning。 What we think about and how we spend our time matters and it physically shapes our brains。 Another fascinating read about this topic is “My Stroke of Insight” by Jill Bolte Taylor: a neurologist who had a stroke and documents her recovery。
Peter Tillman
，
I was fired up by the rave WSJ review （9-5-20） but reader Sarah points out an egregious error， https://www。goodreads。com/review/show。。。As this is her field， I'm putting my plans to read the book on hold， unless I read something that convinces me otherwise。 A serious error by the author。 As she points out， how can you trust other 'facts' in the book you don't know as well？ And it's not like I don't have hundreds of other books on Mt。 TBR。Thanks， Sarah for pointing this out。 There's a long discuss I was fired up by the rave WSJ review （9-5-20） but reader Sarah points out an egregious error， https://www。goodreads。com/review/show。。。As this is her field， I'm putting my plans to read the book on hold， unless I read something that convinces me otherwise。 A serious error by the author。 As she points out， how can you trust other 'facts' in the book you don't know as well？ And it's not like I don't have hundreds of other books on Mt。 TBR。Thanks， Sarah for pointing this out。 There's a long discussion at her review， and not everyone agrees with her。 Read the comments and decide for yourself。 。。。more
Arlene
，
While the introductory chapters were a bit repetitive and slow to introduce new concepts， later portions of the book were riveting！ I enjoyed thinking about the possibilities of enhanced perception by creating and adding new peripheral devices that could be tied to the brain。 I’d love to see in ultraviolet！ Can we make me post-human？ If so， sign me up！ As someone who reads continuously and is a dedicated lifelong learner， I also appreciated the discussion of neuroplasticity and of the possible t While the introductory chapters were a bit repetitive and slow to introduce new concepts， later portions of the book were riveting！ I enjoyed thinking about the possibilities of enhanced perception by creating and adding new peripheral devices that could be tied to the brain。 I’d love to see in ultraviolet！ Can we make me post-human？ If so， sign me up！ As someone who reads continuously and is a dedicated lifelong learner， I also appreciated the discussion of neuroplasticity and of the possible temporal effects of how information is handled。 I do wish this text had provided more detailed explanation of brain structures at all size points to display as visual aides when expositing these higher order theories。 I did find the author’s brief treatment of the topic of synesthesia to be over-simplified。 I’ve read a few academic articles linking color/letter grapheme to particular alphabet toys or posters in schools。 However， these linkages do not account for all manifestations of synesthesia of this kind。 I experience this particular blending of the senses， among several others， and I have yet to be able to trace these conflations of sensory data to particular exposures at a young age。 So I think there’s definitely more going on than just getting one particular association stuck to another。 It’s possible that there are other underlying mechanisms at work， （more neural connections？ faster speed at which information travels？） and experiments with altered states of consciousness can also produce new， and seemingly creative moments of synesthesia。 。。。more
Ajla
，
Too many futuristic concepts for my taste。 No， I actually don't want science to enable humans to move robots with their minds。But those parts aside， there were some interesting parts on senses， memory etc。 Too many futuristic concepts for my taste。 No， I actually don't want science to enable humans to move robots with their minds。But those parts aside， there were some interesting parts on senses， memory etc。 。。。more
Ravi Kumar
，
This is one of the best and obviously so as its written by the most 'brainy" scientist David Eagleman。 Lots of amazing details about the 2 and half kg of protoplasm like mass that has some greatest secrets lying deep in its folds ！I was thrilled at the sheer beauty of the most marvelous organ and am totally in awe of the master designer。 The great thing as Eagleman says is 。。。its good we didnt come with all the pre installed software。。。。we adapt and in the process learn， unlearn and adapt。 The b This is one of the best and obviously so as its written by the most 'brainy" scientist David Eagleman。 Lots of amazing details about the 2 and half kg of protoplasm like mass that has some greatest secrets lying deep in its folds ！I was thrilled at the sheer beauty of the most marvelous organ and am totally in awe of the master designer。 The great thing as Eagleman says is 。。。its good we didnt come with all the pre installed software。。。。we adapt and in the process learn， unlearn and adapt。 The bit about Nelsons arm and the one on neural prosthetics is simply awesome ！ Recommend this one。 。。。more
Erin Moloney
，
Amazing exploration of the plasticity of the brain and an interesting discussion about the future influence of evolution on technology！
Ren Sato
，
so so good， blew my mind many times
Paul Ransom
，
One of the most revealing and engaging books on the brain and neuro-science ever aimed at the non-expert。 Lively， personable and rich with exciting ideas， 'Livewired' is a genune eye-opener （for those who like that kind of thing）。 If at times the author seems a tad missionary， his enthusiasm is always understandable and backed by decades of research。 One of the most revealing and engaging books on the brain and neuro-science ever aimed at the non-expert。 Lively， personable and rich with exciting ideas， 'Livewired' is a genune eye-opener （for those who like that kind of thing）。 If at times the author seems a tad missionary， his enthusiasm is always understandable and backed by decades of research。 。。。more
Al Wright
，
Inspiring and informative for all us non-neuroscientists。
Leigh
，
Wicked interesting。。。
Jose
，
Easy to read， interesting book on brain capabilities and how it works
Jordan Lei
，
Eagleman describes the brain in a way that is accessible and easy to understand。 The key idea of the book is that instead of being hardwired， our brains are 'livewired' and capable of adapting to a wide range of new contexts， scenarios， and challenges。 The idea comes across well， but I felt that at times Eagleman is a bit heavy-handed about the idea of the brain being 'livewired' without providing enough specificity into how the brain might achieve these dynamics。 I wish the book had a bit more Eagleman describes the brain in a way that is accessible and easy to understand。 The key idea of the book is that instead of being hardwired， our brains are 'livewired' and capable of adapting to a wide range of new contexts， scenarios， and challenges。 The idea comes across well， but I felt that at times Eagleman is a bit heavy-handed about the idea of the brain being 'livewired' without providing enough specificity into how the brain might achieve these dynamics。 I wish the book had a bit more of an explanation into the mechanisms from which this livewiring would arise in biological systems， and what implications it has for the future of neuroscience。 。。。more
Sushil Borah
，
This book deals with the fascinating human brain。 Although so much is researched， there are still miles to go when it comes to knowing the human brain。 With al the exercises of replicating sight， calculations etc of the human brain via deep learning， this book shows us that we are only scratching the surface of the brain。 The elasticity and plasticity of the brain is much beyond what we can comprehend with todays research。 Fascinating case studies have been cited。 Few include where one of the he This book deals with the fascinating human brain。 Although so much is researched， there are still miles to go when it comes to knowing the human brain。 With al the exercises of replicating sight， calculations etc of the human brain via deep learning， this book shows us that we are only scratching the surface of the brain。 The elasticity and plasticity of the brain is much beyond what we can comprehend with todays research。 Fascinating case studies have been cited。 Few include where one of the hemispheres in the brain is surgically removed。 Also a case study where someone who had sight loses it。 Some books （How to build a Human Brain - Ray Kurzweil） show us the map of the brain with regions for sight， hearing etc。 However the truth is much more complicated than that。 Loved the quote that if a young person asks you what will tech be like in 50 years answer that it is right behind your eyes。 。。。more
Arun Verma
，
🧠 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨 𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙬𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙛𝙡𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮。🌟🌟🌟 I am a fan of David Eagleman’s books and it’s my 4th book of this author。 It’s a stupendous read。 🌟🌟🌟🧠 The main purpose of this book is to show the plasticity of the brain。 The brain is Livewired。 It is a dynamic system， constantly altering its own circuitry to match the demands of the environment and the capabilities of the body。 Who you are owes as much to your surroundings as it does to the DNA inside you。❓ You will find answe 🧠 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨 𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙬𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙛𝙡𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮。🌟🌟🌟 I am a fan of David Eagleman’s books and it’s my 4th book of this author。 It’s a stupendous read。 🌟🌟🌟🧠 The main purpose of this book is to show the plasticity of the brain。 The brain is Livewired。 It is a dynamic system， constantly altering its own circuitry to match the demands of the environment and the capabilities of the body。 Who you are owes as much to your surroundings as it does to the DNA inside you。❓ You will find answers to many interesting questions。 Some of those are: what drug withdrawal and broken hearts have in common？ Why is the enemy of memory not time， but other memories？ How can a blind person learn to see with her tongue or a deaf person learn to hear with his skin？ Why is the world’s best archer armless？ Might we someday control a robot with our thoughts， just as we do our fingers and toes？ What if you could take the current senses and make them better， wider， faster？🧠 The magic of the brain is not found in the parts it’s made of， but in the way those parts unceasingly re-weave themselves in an electric， living fabric。 The brain is always hungry for new sources of information。 Whatever data the brain receives， it makes use of。🧠 The book presents new discoveries from Eagleman’s own laboratory， from synaesthesia to dreaming to wearable neurotech devices that revolutionise how we think about the senses。If you find my review helpful。 Follow me on Instagram。 Instagram handle- @getsmarterwithbooksInstagram link- https://www。instagram。com/getsmarterw。。。 。。。more
Brian Clegg
，
Popular science book topics are a bit like buses - you wait ages for one on a particular topic/route and then a whole string of the turn up。 This is yet another title on the workings of the brain （though to be fair to David Eagleman it was already out in hardback， so he was at the start of the queue）。 Thankfully， Eagleman gives us a whole new way of looking at the human brain's capabilities， suggesting the reason Homo sapiens is so versatile and capable is down to the extreme plasticity of the h Popular science book topics are a bit like buses - you wait ages for one on a particular topic/route and then a whole string of the turn up。 This is yet another title on the workings of the brain （though to be fair to David Eagleman it was already out in hardback， so he was at the start of the queue）。 Thankfully， Eagleman gives us a whole new way of looking at the human brain's capabilities， suggesting the reason Homo sapiens is so versatile and capable is down to the extreme plasticity of the human brain - its ability to rewire itself on the fly， or livewiring as Eagleman calls it。This is a fascinating topic。 It's not that the idea of the brain as a self-patterning system that adapts and changes as inputs vary is new， but the sheer depth and speed of the phenomenon is only relatively recently understood and Eagleman gives us a very wide range of examples， from a young child who had half his brain removed， but developed normally， the remaining half taking on all the roles of the other， to the remarkably short term adaptations that enable us to cope with， for example， changes in lighting colour and intensity。 We also see some aspects where the initial plasticity locks in， restricting future development if children haven't， for example， developed language skills by a particular stage。Eagleman peppers the book with stories and examples - my absolute favourite was the way that in the late 70s and early 80s， people thought that the IBM logo on floppy disks had changed from white to red。 This was a result of one of these short term adaptations to compensate for an apparent oddity of the surroundings。 You need to read the book to get the details， but the cause was apparently due to the people handling the disks （on which the logo was made up of a set of white horizontal lines） spent a lot of their time staring at VDUs， which contained lots of horizontal green lines of text。 （My only slight doubt about this one is that I was a person who did this at the time， but I never noticed the effect， nor did I hear of it from anyone else。）The subject really grabbed my attention， and Eagleman is good at storytelling， but there were a couple of things about the writing style that irritated me。 Particularly in the first chapter， the writing was very jerky， suddenly changing topic， even telling half a story then abruptly switching to something else before coming back to the original subject again。 The flow could have been better。 The book is also overloaded with analogies， some of which simply get in the way。 For example， Eagleman spends two pages telling us why the English colonists beat the French colonists in the US simply to make the point that a part of the brain that no longer sends information loses territory。 Similarly， there's a bizarre reference many pages after telling us about Nelson's experience with his lost arm that out of the blue says 'Most visitor's to Admiral Nelson's statue in London's Trafalgar Square have probably not considered the distortion of the somatosensory cortex in the left hemisphere of that elevated head。' Well， yes。 That's probably because that elevated head doesn't have a somatosensory cortex。 It's a statue。Despite occasional issues with the writing （and a warning that if you're squeamish that there are quite a lot of medical details as a lot we learn about the brain is from the results of damage and surgery） this is one of the best brain books I've read this year。 。。。more
Lou
，
Every man if he so desires becomes sculptor of his own brain。— Santiago Ramón y CajalAnd so this book explores this truth and posits a future whereby machine utilizes the human brain's ability to livewire thanks to plasticity。 Every man if he so desires becomes sculptor of his own brain。— Santiago Ramón y CajalAnd so this book explores this truth and posits a future whereby machine utilizes the human brain's ability to livewire thanks to plasticity。 。。。more
Stephen Inoue
，
LiveWired is the general reference guide everyone with a brain needs。 Understanding how the brain works does wonders for learning and remembering。 Learning how a brain can master new sensory inputs made me realize humanity is entering a new epoch。 The chapter on how AI and plug and play electronics should be modeled after the brain's ability to accept new sensory inputs is a whole new book that needs to be written。 LiveWired is the general reference guide everyone with a brain needs。 Understanding how the brain works does wonders for learning and remembering。 Learning how a brain can master new sensory inputs made me realize humanity is entering a new epoch。 The chapter on how AI and plug and play electronics should be modeled after the brain's ability to accept new sensory inputs is a whole new book that needs to be written。 。。。more
annika
，
i thought it was going to be more interesting - no more new information， felt like it was all about enhancing。 this was not it for me。
Jessie Rhines
，
Scientifically fascinating and also beautifully written—no small feat there。
Rudi
，
Boeiend boek ， ik heb zelfs genoten van de noten ， veel informatie en voor mij helaas ook weer een boel bijkomende vragen Voor een leek gemakkelijk leesbaar boek over de （aanpassings） werking van de hersenen
Mostafa
，
مغز پویا یک اثر به روز در باب نوروساینس است که مغز کلامش درباره ی خاصیت "نوروپلاستیسیته" مغز است。 ژنتیک تنها بخش تشکیل دهنده ی مغز نیست و این سیستم پویا توسط محیط شکل میگیرد و شگفتی آن در این است که به سان باکتری که در پی استفاده از گلوکز است، در پی کسب بیشترین اطلاعات از محیط خود است（اینفوتروپیسم）。 مغز انسان توانایی تطبیق خارق العاده ای با محیط خود دارد و زیبایی آن در همین امر است که طبیعت به جای تطابق از طریق ژن ها با محیط در پی نسل ها، سیستمی هوشمند به وجود آورده که خود راهش را در پی تطابق مغز پویا یک اثر به روز در باب نوروساینس است که مغز کلامش درباره ی خاصیت "نوروپلاستیسیته" مغز است。 ژنتیک تنها بخش تشکیل دهنده ی مغز نیست و این سیستم پویا توسط محیط شکل میگیرد و شگفتی آن در این است که به سان باکتری که در پی استفاده از گلوکز است، در پی کسب بیشترین اطلاعات از محیط خود است（اینفوتروپیسم）。 مغز انسان توانایی تطبیق خارق العاده ای با محیط خود دارد و زیبایی آن در همین امر است که طبیعت به جای تطابق از طریق ژن ها با محیط در پی نسل ها، سیستمی هوشمند به وجود آورده که خود راهش را در پی تطابق با محیط پیدا کند。 ورودی حسی به مغز بدهید، مهم نیست این ورودی نور باشد یا امواج الکترومغناطیس یا چیز دیگر، مغز خود راه تفسیر آن را خواهد یافت。 به بدن اندامی فراتر از چیزی که دارد بدهید، دست اضافه یا اندامی جدید یا هر چیز دیگر، مغز توانایی استفاده از آن را خواهد آموخت。سراسر کتاب در این مورد سخن گفته و با مثال ها و جدیدترین پژوهش ها در این زمینه مطلب را با جذابیتی مثال زدنی توضیح می دهد。 。。。more
Stephen Gilbert
，
He should have just called it plasticity。 Interesting in patches but frequently comes across as trying to take credit for existing ideas。
Don Harvey
，
Eagleman is much more than a neuroscientist。 Futurist， anthropologist， storyteller and more rolled into one one wonderful writer。 There’s nothing dry or textbook-like about this book。 I found it both insightful and enjoyable。
Georgie
，
3。5 Stars！
Lydia Schröder
，
A fascinating insight into the human brain。 Mindblowing。
Moriah
，
I'm claiming this as read， even though it was a chaotic read。 Flip through， read a section， flip again。 Then go back and read missing parts backwards。 And I skipped most of the endnotes。Anyways， cool about the new bionic tech and yay for brain plasticity and elasticity。。。 lots of interesting info about the brain and what our bodies can adapt to。 Shows how our brains have an imprecise， open structure that can be adapted to what our environment requires。 Nature gives the framework， and then nurtur I'm claiming this as read， even though it was a chaotic read。 Flip through， read a section， flip again。 Then go back and read missing parts backwards。 And I skipped most of the endnotes。Anyways， cool about the new bionic tech and yay for brain plasticity and elasticity。。。 lots of interesting info about the brain and what our bodies can adapt to。 Shows how our brains have an imprecise， open structure that can be adapted to what our environment requires。 Nature gives the framework， and then nurture makes the masterpiece。Evolution is given credit here and there， but one can easily disregard those comments and focus on how marvelously and creatively God has made us。 。。。more
Allan Kaster
，
This is an excellent book。 There are lots of anecdotes in this book that the author uses to great effect。 I learned a lot about a subject I know next to nothing about。 So I want to say one word about the ever-changing brain: plasticity。 The book is great fun！
Kit Martin
，
Eagleman provides an elegant overview of current development in the fields， and then he proposes a delightful new direction。 If the brain simply wires to the data we feed it， why not provide it new data streams？ His work into extending sensory perception， with a major focus on using the skin as an 'underused' sense could be very useful， and at the very least is quite thought provoking。 Anyone interested in how we learn， and make use of the world， will get a lot out of this book！ Eagleman provides an elegant overview of current development in the fields， and then he proposes a delightful new direction。 If the brain simply wires to the data we feed it， why not provide it new data streams？ His work into extending sensory perception， with a major focus on using the skin as an 'underused' sense could be very useful， and at the very least is quite thought provoking。 Anyone interested in how we learn， and make use of the world， will get a lot out of this book！ 。。。more
Patrick
，