Projections: A Story of Human Emotions
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- Create Date：2021-12-06 09:50:58
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Karl Deisseroth
- ISBN：0593448162
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Summary
In this groundbreaking tour of the human mind， a renowned psychiatrist and neuroscientist explores the biological and evolutionary origins of human emotions through poignant， and at times shocking， clinical stories。
Karl Deisseroth has spent his life pursuing truths about the human mind， both as a practicing clinical psychiatrist and as a researcher who created the revolutionary field of optogenetics， which allows us to decipher the brain's inner workings using light。 In Projections， he combines his groundbreaking access to the brain's inner circuitry with a deep empathy for his patients to examine what mental illness reveals about the mind and the origin of human feelings--how the broken can illuminate the unbroken。
An internationally acclaimed professor of bioengineering and psychiatry at Stanford， Deisseroth's true passion is clinical psychiatry， and it is the stories of his patients that form the backbone of Projections。 Through these case studies， he tells the larger story of how we can understand the physical and biological origins of human emotion in the brain。 As such， he describes vividly how humans experience feelings both in the simple and ancient circuits of our brains and in the poignant moments of suffering in our daily lives。 The stories of Deisseroth's patients are rich with humanity and shine an unprecedented light on the self and the ways in which it breaks down。 A young woman with an eating disorder reveals how the mind can rebel against the brain's most primitive drives of hunger and thirst; while an older gentleman， smothered into silence by depression and dementia， illuminates how humans evolved to feel joy and its absence; and a lonely Uyghur woman far from home teaches the importance of rich social bonds。
An illuminating and essential work， Projections transforms the way we understand the brain as a biological and as an emotional object。
Karl Deisseroth has spent his life pursuing truths about the human mind， both as a practicing clinical psychiatrist and as a researcher who created the revolutionary field of optogenetics， which allows us to decipher the brain's inner workings using light。 In Projections， he combines his groundbreaking access to the brain's inner circuitry with a deep empathy for his patients to examine what mental illness reveals about the mind and the origin of human feelings--how the broken can illuminate the unbroken。
An internationally acclaimed professor of bioengineering and psychiatry at Stanford， Deisseroth's true passion is clinical psychiatry， and it is the stories of his patients that form the backbone of Projections。 Through these case studies， he tells the larger story of how we can understand the physical and biological origins of human emotion in the brain。 As such， he describes vividly how humans experience feelings both in the simple and ancient circuits of our brains and in the poignant moments of suffering in our daily lives。 The stories of Deisseroth's patients are rich with humanity and shine an unprecedented light on the self and the ways in which it breaks down。 A young woman with an eating disorder reveals how the mind can rebel against the brain's most primitive drives of hunger and thirst; while an older gentleman， smothered into silence by depression and dementia， illuminates how humans evolved to feel joy and its absence; and a lonely Uyghur woman far from home teaches the importance of rich social bonds。
An illuminating and essential work， Projections transforms the way we understand the brain as a biological and as an emotional object。
Reviews
Sequoia
，
Interesting read。 Interesting writing style for a non-fiction book。The topics （mental illness; neural basis of these states） are interesting; the technique （optogenetics） is amazing -- sometimes feels even a bit magic; the writing is more like literature + philosophical discussions。The chapter about a schizophrenic patient reads like a short-story fiction。 It's written in third-person narrative， unlike in other chapters the author would still be "I"。 I found this both interesting and just someti Interesting read。 Interesting writing style for a non-fiction book。The topics （mental illness; neural basis of these states） are interesting; the technique （optogenetics） is amazing -- sometimes feels even a bit magic; the writing is more like literature + philosophical discussions。The chapter about a schizophrenic patient reads like a short-story fiction。 It's written in third-person narrative， unlike in other chapters the author would still be "I"。 I found this both interesting and just sometimes， a bit confusing。 。。。more
Seri
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*3。55
Ben Zimmerman
，
Karl Deisseroth is best known for contributing to the invention of optogenetics， for which he just won the Lasker Award， and a lot of people think will win him a Nobel Prize。 The technique features a lot in the book， but he writes mainly from the perspective of a psychiatrist and each of the 7 chapters is presented as a case study that explores some aspect of the human mind。 Throughout he weaves together compelling and poetic narratives about case studies with some of the most fundamental questi Karl Deisseroth is best known for contributing to the invention of optogenetics， for which he just won the Lasker Award， and a lot of people think will win him a Nobel Prize。 The technique features a lot in the book， but he writes mainly from the perspective of a psychiatrist and each of the 7 chapters is presented as a case study that explores some aspect of the human mind。 Throughout he weaves together compelling and poetic narratives about case studies with some of the most fundamental questions in neuroscience。 From the other Goodreads reviews， it seems like the prose of the book makes it a little contentious。 To some， it comes across as poetic and moving。 To others， it comes across as try-hard and pretentious。 I was much more in the first category。 I had to read the book more slowly than usual， but I also felt my emotions being carried along by the book much more than usual （especially in non-fiction）。Throughout the book， Deisseroth addresses some of the biggest questions in neuroscience:tIf evolutionary advantages only depend on actions， why do we even have feelings？ttCan you build some real "theory of responsibility of action" by determining the degree that different brain activity can be controlled or altered by the prefrontal cortex？ttIf remembering is through reactivating a neural pattern， where is the memory when it is not actively remembered？ttCan you control all experience through neural firing？ The answer seems absurd in both directions。 To answer 'no' means that something outside of the brain must be involved。 To answer 'yes'， it seems like we should be able to separate neurons to different locations around the globe and stimulate them with precise time to generate the same experience， which seems absurd。tWhy is consciousness so slow？ How is this 1/4 second delay compatible with our everyday experience of a fluent face-to-face conversation？tOne of the biggest themes of the book for me was this idea of trade-offs。 That there are advantages and disadvantages to competing traits， and so most of us fall on a spectrum of those dimensions。 This idea was combined with the metaphor of sickle-cell anemia， where heterozygotes have protection against malaria， but homozygotes for the recessive gene have a disease。 Maybe some extreme disorders are too much of one thing and not enough of the balancing thing， so to speak。 Chapter 1 is called "Storehouse of Tears"。 It explores the case study of a man who， faced with incredible loss， has the primary complaint that he cannot cry。 Deisseroth introduces some general themes of the book in this chapter that pop up over and over again throughout the book。 He introduces the tool of thinking about emotional states through the lens of evolution， but also about how it's sometimes tricky to do this， since there may be some founder's effects in the human gene pool due to some close calls with extinction。 Crying itself may be one of these weird human quirks。 We're the only ape （and animal apparently） to do emotional crying。 He proposes how it might be beneficial to have new automatic expressions of emotions in a social species because at the individual level， we benefit by deceiving everyone， but at the group level， we benefit through information sharing。Chapter 2 is called "First Break，" and is about a man who becomes manic for the first time after retirement。 After 9-11， he fixates on an emotional image of a father and a daughter on one of the planes from his own imagination， and this seems to somehow push him into an extreme manic state。 He doesn't need to sleep and is highly motivated。 His is forced into treatment despite not wanting it himself， which he still does not feel was necessary even after treatment， so the chapter focuses some of its discussion on the ethics of this type of situation。 Deisseroth makes connections between this man and Joan of Arc， with their same militant and righteous convictions and extreme motivational energy in response to a foreign invader。 Chapter 3 is called "Carrying Capacity，" and tells the remarkable story of a socially adept Uygur women telling the story of her husband's interment。 Deisseroth contrasts her amazingly rich and textured story-telling and social skill with the overwhelming stimulation of social information in autism。 Deisseroth considers that for humans， there are uses for dealing with situations with extreme dynamical complexitiy as in social encounters， but other uses for situations where you want to spend a lot of time focusing on fixed objects with unchanging rules。 In the human genome， perhaps genes directing these attributes are competing is some way。 Chapter 4 is called "Broken Skin，" and is about a man with borderline personality disorder and the strange relief of cutting in certain disorders。 Deisseroth also explores the notions of borders and self-hood through the sensors on the skin。Chapter 5 is called "The Faraday Cage，" and is told from the perspective of a psychotic patient who may have schizophrenia。 The story told this way gives the reader the fascinating perspective of the flow of thought from the psychotic patient。 There are some interesting conversations between the patient and Karl Deisseroth exploring the idea that belief is itself controlled by the brain and can be fixed or loose。 What we think seems so true is just a shared belief。 Chapter 6 is called "Consummation，" and tells the story of a young woman with an eating disorder and discusses how the human mind is capable of overcoming the brain's most primitive drives of hunger。 Chapter 7 is called "Moro，" which refers to a startle reflex that exists in babies， goes away around 3-6 months of age， but then can reappear in cases of severe brain damage， indicating that it has existed the whole time， but laid dormant， inhibited by the rest of the cortex。 This chapter is mostly about the aging and anhedonia， and how we may feel the absence of joy through accompanying reduced brain activity that occurs with dementia。 I found the book compelling， beautifully written， and extraordinarily stimulating。 。。。more
Payel Kundu
，
I read this book for a neuroscience book club I co-run。 My partner and I are both neuroscientists， and he was excitedly telling me all the things he loved about it before I began reading it。 But as I began the book， then progressed further and further， it just wasn’t sparking joy。 I’m still not sure why we felt so differently about the book。 First of all， Deisseroth’s work on optogenetics is super cool， I think every neuroscientist on earth probably agrees about that。 I didn’t know before readin I read this book for a neuroscience book club I co-run。 My partner and I are both neuroscientists， and he was excitedly telling me all the things he loved about it before I began reading it。 But as I began the book， then progressed further and further， it just wasn’t sparking joy。 I’m still not sure why we felt so differently about the book。 First of all， Deisseroth’s work on optogenetics is super cool， I think every neuroscientist on earth probably agrees about that。 I didn’t know before reading this book that he was also a practicing psychiatrist and I'm still really confused how he had time to do that as well as invent one of the most groundbreaking tools in neuroscience。 He's in a really unique position to relate what he sees in the clinic to specific brain areas and pathways from his work in the lab。 Those were the portions of the book I enjoyed the most。 Unfortunately this was a really small part of the book。 Most of the book is Deisseroth poetically describing some of his more affecting clinical experiences with patients， and philosophically speculating about how this applies to the human condition。 I really don't care for flowery prose and I found it very tiresome in this case as well。 I always get the feeling the author is trying to emotionally manipulate me， or create illusory depth about situations that are actually quite straightforward。 Also， most of the clinical cases weren't super unique， just described with great poetic emotion。 There were some interesting portions， but I was so impatient with the stuff in between I found it hard to appreciate the cool ideas when they came， which is partially on me as an impatient reader。 In short， not here for it。 Maybe lovers of poetry and philosophy would appreciate it more than I did。 。。。more
Ʀaðǫ ʦwetkǫf
，
Very humane and poetic book from lead psychiatrist and MD。
Sharath Reddy
，
Awesome book。 Strongly recommend for anyone， especially for anyone interested in neuroscience and psychiatry
Karol
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Stopped at 22% Maybe Deisseroth is a true genius and his writing is too complicated for me。 Or maybe I'm right and it's all overdone， over romanticized。 Unbearable to read for me。 Style makes it so hard to get the merit。 If you want a mental challenge and lots of Greek （？） mythology trivia - this book might be for you。 Stopped at 22% Maybe Deisseroth is a true genius and his writing is too complicated for me。 Or maybe I'm right and it's all overdone， over romanticized。 Unbearable to read for me。 Style makes it so hard to get the merit。 If you want a mental challenge and lots of Greek （？） mythology trivia - this book might be for you。 。。。more
Liam Walter
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WOW。。。。 His writing is truly incredible A++++。 I learned more from this than 95% of my psychology classes。
E
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Like listening to a psychiatrist talk about their thoughts from their most memorable clinical experiences
Selene
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4。5。 Wow， what a profoundly thought provoking book。 I see there are quite a few negative reviews， mostly based on the flowery prose that Deisseroth chose to use。 While it occasionally seemed as if it was trying to hard， I see why he went with that style， because it accomplished not flattening the deep and sensuous human experience， despite the research into material origins of human emotion。 I really love how Deisseroth wove together his optogenetics research with case studies of his psychiatris 4。5。 Wow， what a profoundly thought provoking book。 I see there are quite a few negative reviews， mostly based on the flowery prose that Deisseroth chose to use。 While it occasionally seemed as if it was trying to hard， I see why he went with that style， because it accomplished not flattening the deep and sensuous human experience， despite the research into material origins of human emotion。 I really love how Deisseroth wove together his optogenetics research with case studies of his psychiatrist patients。 He truly has an incredible mind and a very unique view point in the field of psychiatry。 I was moved by how empathetically he told the stories of his patients。 My only complaint is that I wish he had gone just a bit deeper into the science behind his research， because I do not feel satiated after this book！ I want to go into a deep dive， and unfortunately can’t because optogenetics is such an emerging field of study。 I also see why he kept it at the level of understanding for a layperson — I think anyone interested in mental health on a personal or professional level could enjoy this。 。。。more
Janna
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There’s something surprisingly reassuring to me that a research scientist who uses tiny fibre-optic cables to fire lasers into the brains of mice is also capable of using the English language so empathically and expertly to follow the course of a particular emotion。 That said， Deisseroth is an unfortunate example of an author who should not narrate his own work， or at least， an author who needs to train and practice narration more。 I would not recommend this title as an audiobook because Deisser There’s something surprisingly reassuring to me that a research scientist who uses tiny fibre-optic cables to fire lasers into the brains of mice is also capable of using the English language so empathically and expertly to follow the course of a particular emotion。 That said， Deisseroth is an unfortunate example of an author who should not narrate his own work， or at least， an author who needs to train and practice narration more。 I would not recommend this title as an audiobook because Deisseroth uses a strangely halting， nearly muttering tone that makes for an exhausting listening experience。 The sections narrated by Natalie Naudus and Karen Chilton flowed perfectly; it’s such a shame Deisseroth insists on reading so much of this。 Why I listened to the whole audiobook: I can’t recall the work of another scientist or researcher so informed by empathy for his patients。 Deisseroth seems primarily interested in understanding feelings and why we have them， how they evolve and why they’re so often maladapted to our circumstances。 This shines through in how Deisseroth depicts patients with mental illness。 The stories of patients suffering with the mania of bipolar disorders， the delusions and hallucinations of paranoid schizophrenia， and the instability of borderline personality disorder don’t rely on clinical language。 Instead， Deisseroth shows us how the language patterns and emotional descriptions of each patient reflect or project their clinical diagnosis as well or perhaps even more reliably than any sort of clinical lab test。 He also uses examples from fiction， myth， and history: for example， the mania in bipolar disorder， seems evident in the case of Joan of Arc。 Listen to my extended review on the Audiobook Reviews in Five Minutes podcast on Apple， Anchor， Breaker， Google， Overcast， Pocket Casts， RadioPublic， and Spotify。 。。。more
Minervas Owl
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Karl Deisseroth invented optogenetics -- a feat that will almost certainly win him a Nobel Prize。 But he writes this book mainly from the viewpoint of a psychiatrist。 Yes， he cited research findings from optogenetics and shared knowledge about neuroscience， but he didn't mention how he set up the lab and designed the experiments。 Instead， he talked about receiving 3 am phone calls from PTSD patients at the VA hospital， searching for a young girl who sneaked out of the emergency room， and making Karl Deisseroth invented optogenetics -- a feat that will almost certainly win him a Nobel Prize。 But he writes this book mainly from the viewpoint of a psychiatrist。 Yes， he cited research findings from optogenetics and shared knowledge about neuroscience， but he didn't mention how he set up the lab and designed the experiments。 Instead， he talked about receiving 3 am phone calls from PTSD patients at the VA hospital， searching for a young girl who sneaked out of the emergency room， and making hard decisions of evaluating suicide risk and the need for involuntary hospitalization。 I admire him for not letting scientific achievements and fame eclipse his attentiveness and empathy for his patients。Other than the authors' credentials， the book is also unique in its style。 Each chapter centers around a patient's stories， but the narration is often interrupted by neuroscientific facts， personal memories， and literary metaphors。 I can imagine readers being put off by the convoluted writing。 As for me， I didn't appreciate the style when I read the first two chapters， but I started to embrace and love it as I listened to chapter 3。 A female narrator reads a Xinjiang girl's part in accented English， while Deisseroth himself reads the interjected commentaries， and they clicked。 In chapter 5， Deisseroth writes in the imagined voice of patients -- another choice that might offend readers。 Again， I stand with him because I agree that imagination is essential for doctors and caregivers to understand the disordered mind。I find Deisseroth a brilliant scholar。 For example， I've read about the topics he discussed previously in various books， but none of them asks the following inspiring questions as he did:t• If evolutionary advantages only depend on actions， why do we have to have inner feelings？t• If remembering is through reactivating a particular neurological pattern， what is the memory itself when it is not actively remembered？t• Why is consciousness so slow？ How is this 1/4 second delay compatible with our everyday experience of a fluent face-to-face conversation？For another example， I couldn't grasp the meaning of "transitional object" when I read mentions of it from Sherry Turkle and even Martha Nussbaum。 But I finally understood it after reading Deisseroth introduce it。As for weaknesses: this book will not serve well as a primer for mental disorders because it does not aim to be a comprehensive introduction。 I also find some parts of the book， such as the writings on Neanderthals， non-relevant to the central theme。Side Notes:t• I didn't expect a book about psychiatry would mention the Xinjiang internment camps。 But it makes sense。 The camps shattered millions of lives; it's about time we witness the trauma in various ways。 。。。more
Anne
，
Deisseroth is one of todays leading neuroscientists， and his personal story is undoubtedly worth it。 Unfortunately I couldn't get past the flowery language， didn't finish the book。 Deisseroth is one of todays leading neuroscientists， and his personal story is undoubtedly worth it。 Unfortunately I couldn't get past the flowery language， didn't finish the book。 。。。more
Jim French
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Unreadable。
Samantha Ellerbeck
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Aaa
Nout Vissers
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Nadat ik via de podcast van Andrew Huberman geïntroduceerd werd in het werk van Deisseroth waren mijn verwachtingen zeer hoog， doch op een totaal andere plek。In plaats van de 'droge' opsomming van de nieuwste neurowetenschappelijke technologieën die ik verwachtte， ben ik meegenomen door Deisseroths poëtische vertelling van zes patiëntverhalen uit zijn psychiatrische kliniek en de mentale/neurologische afwijkingen waar zij mee worstelen。 De verhalen zijn wel degelijk verweven met de baanbrekende Nadat ik via de podcast van Andrew Huberman geïntroduceerd werd in het werk van Deisseroth waren mijn verwachtingen zeer hoog， doch op een totaal andere plek。In plaats van de 'droge' opsomming van de nieuwste neurowetenschappelijke technologieën die ik verwachtte， ben ik meegenomen door Deisseroths poëtische vertelling van zes patiëntverhalen uit zijn psychiatrische kliniek en de mentale/neurologische afwijkingen waar zij mee worstelen。 De verhalen zijn wel degelijk verweven met de baanbrekende ontwikkelingen in de optogenetica， maar zijn geenszins droog te noemen。Absolute aanrader。 。。。more
Bryan
，
Never have I read a more poetic but scientific book。 Deisserroth has an amazing way with words and is somehow able to describe indescribable phenomena that arise in the human mind。
Sara
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One of the worst books I've ever （tried to） read。 The quality of Deisseroth's science is very high。 The quality of his prose is very low， somewhere between pretentious and unintelligble。 Possibly the most '-' that I've ever seen in a book。 I had to return it。 One of the worst books I've ever （tried to） read。 The quality of Deisseroth's science is very high。 The quality of his prose is very low， somewhere between pretentious and unintelligble。 Possibly the most '-' that I've ever seen in a book。 I had to return it。 。。。more
Kristen Claiborn
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This is going to be super short。 I found the subjects discussed in this book intriguing， but the language was super pretentious and genuinely not for the average reader。 Had he used more everyday language， this book would have been exponentially more enjoyable。
Tommy Mcconnell
，
TLDR: This book was not what I had expected it to be， but it was still worth reading。 I was introduced to this book by listening to the Huberman Lab Podcast （which I highly recommend）。 As a guest on the show， Dr。 Deisseroth discussed his contributions to neuroscience in developing the techniques of optogenetics and CLARITY， both of which intrigued me greatly， so I was excited to hear he had recently published a book。 However， the book did not satiate my initial intrigue。 While there were some br TLDR: This book was not what I had expected it to be， but it was still worth reading。 I was introduced to this book by listening to the Huberman Lab Podcast （which I highly recommend）。 As a guest on the show， Dr。 Deisseroth discussed his contributions to neuroscience in developing the techniques of optogenetics and CLARITY， both of which intrigued me greatly， so I was excited to hear he had recently published a book。 However， the book did not satiate my initial intrigue。 While there were some brief sections discussing these techniques， the majority of the book focuses on Deisseroth’s experiences as a psychiatrist rather than a neuroscientist。That being said， the stories of his patients， and of the complexity of treating them， are genuinely interesting， well written and emotionally engaging。 So， despite not meeting my expectations， this was still a worthwhile work of non-fiction。 。。。more
Oleg
，
Boring， over complicated， terribly written， and pretentious at best… How does this book have so many 5 stars？！？！？ It is the most painful read I’ve done in a long time， I couldn’t get past 60 pages， I actually was seething with rage at how bad the writing was， extremely try hard
Cade
，
The aspects on specific results obtained from the use of optogenetic studies is interesting。 Unfortunately， there is precious little of that and way too much pretentious pontificating。
Kayson Fakhar
，
So I know the author because of his revolutionary tool called optogenetics。 He is a capable scientist who in my mind， was a narrow-minded super-focused method-neuroscientist。 This book showed me that he's actually very good at writing for the public and in my opinion， this book is far better than most of the neuroscience-based books I've read。 It covers interesting topics and the transitions are very smooth so there's no hiccup between topics。 It's full of detailed descriptions of how different So I know the author because of his revolutionary tool called optogenetics。 He is a capable scientist who in my mind， was a narrow-minded super-focused method-neuroscientist。 This book showed me that he's actually very good at writing for the public and in my opinion， this book is far better than most of the neuroscience-based books I've read。 It covers interesting topics and the transitions are very smooth so there's no hiccup between topics。 It's full of detailed descriptions of how different psychiatric patients feel and think。 While it's scientifically rigorous， it also has a very romantic approach to many of the events and topics。 Altogether， this will be one of the books I will for sure recommend to anyone who's interested in psychiatry， neuroscience， the human brain， and the human mind。 。。。more
Imaginarium
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This is one of the worst books I have ever read。 Karl Deisseroth is a psychiatrist and a scientist actively working in the field of neuroscience。 He introduced a method of using light to influence activity of certain types of neurons。 Because of this I expected the book to be full of cutting-edge science， things I could not got from any other place， things that come fresh from the lab using a highly advanced method of looking at and controlling brain activity。 Boy， was I wrong。。。The books is alm This is one of the worst books I have ever read。 Karl Deisseroth is a psychiatrist and a scientist actively working in the field of neuroscience。 He introduced a method of using light to influence activity of certain types of neurons。 Because of this I expected the book to be full of cutting-edge science， things I could not got from any other place， things that come fresh from the lab using a highly advanced method of looking at and controlling brain activity。 Boy， was I wrong。。。The books is almost entirely a collection of anecdotes。 The problem is， there isn't really anything else beside that filler。 I didn't care one bit about any of the patients。 The author didn't make me care。 Slapping a name on a case doesn't make you care。 Reading how Deisseroth is torn by his emotions when relating to the patients doesn't make you care。 The author doesn't know how to write a compelling story。 Which is not unexpected — he's a medical doctor， not a story writer。 But then again， what's the point of including them in the first place？。。。I don't know what the author was trying to accomplish with these anecdotes and the description of his emotional struggles with the fate of the patients。 But the strongest impression I got was that the author needs therapy as he's really struggling with his emotions， with himself， and with his work。 The book reads like a confession to a therapist rather than an educational work。There isn't much valuable information。 Some of it is boring （a certain nerve controls movements of an eye）， some of it is already common knowledge （memories are coded by connections between neurons）。 And there isn't anything more to it！ No jaw-dropping curiosities， no unexpected discoveries。 Instead of content we get a forced flowery language。 The author really tried to act as a writer。 But the sporadic poetic language is not a substitute for interesting content。I listened to the audio book read by the author himself。 And this is yet another disappointment。 Deisseroth doesn't have the skill， he's not a narrator。 Instead， he is a sloth。 I had to listen at 120% speed just to keep focus not to fall asleep。 He makes weird pauses mid-sentence。 The entire narration is weird and not natural。 I had the impression that the author is constantly very， very sad。 This was irritating。。。 I had to force myself to finish the book。 。。。more
Laura
，
This book does not know what it wants to be。 Uneven， and some chapters suffer from issues of audience （who are the readers for lengthy， repeating explanations of optogenetic research？） A couple of chapters were very good。 More chapters were skim-fests。
Dan Mitnick
，
This is a terrific book。Both deeply human and rigorously analytical this brief and gripping work combines neuroscience psychiatry and bioengineering in a well written and fundamentally humanities-based approach all of which stem from the improbably polyglot author， research scientist， clinician and academic， pursuits。 Fascinating and empathetically rendered case studies articulately expressed in near poetic concision flesh and blood patients and the mental ailments they endureEach of the few sel This is a terrific book。Both deeply human and rigorously analytical this brief and gripping work combines neuroscience psychiatry and bioengineering in a well written and fundamentally humanities-based approach all of which stem from the improbably polyglot author， research scientist， clinician and academic， pursuits。 Fascinating and empathetically rendered case studies articulately expressed in near poetic concision flesh and blood patients and the mental ailments they endureEach of the few selection are near literary characterizations in their own right and help to illuminate the well explained neuroscience presumably underneath the particular mental illness each individual suffers。 Also part autobiography of a young thoughtful and caring practitioner on how to relate both clinically and as research scientist as well as personally， to the suffering before him。 With the rigors of science and a whole person practitioner approach this is a remarkable balanced investigation into the "meat" AND "mind" that combined to conjurer an individual consciousness。 。。。more
Anthony Gonzalez
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Beautifully written， incredibly inspiring。
Niko
，
As much as I wanted to like it， Projections was a disappointing read。 An aspiring physician， I have a deep admiration for Deisseroth’s work， especially his Nobel-worthy pioneering of optogenetics。 His genius was never in question。 The problem is with his prose。The book reads like a medical school personal statement whose author is trying too hard to impress the reader。 In fact， I was concurrently reading George Soros’ notoriously difficult The Alchemy of Finance （a philosophical view of the mark As much as I wanted to like it， Projections was a disappointing read。 An aspiring physician， I have a deep admiration for Deisseroth’s work， especially his Nobel-worthy pioneering of optogenetics。 His genius was never in question。 The problem is with his prose。The book reads like a medical school personal statement whose author is trying too hard to impress the reader。 In fact， I was concurrently reading George Soros’ notoriously difficult The Alchemy of Finance （a philosophical view of the markets） and found it to be an easier read than Projections。 If you’re interested in learning more about Deisseroth’s work， I instead recommend listening to Andrew Huberman’s podcast episode with Deisseroth。 You’ll get a better sense of how Deisseroth thinks… and save a couple of hours。 。。。more
Nate Lorenzen
，
I would classify this as experimental nonfiction。 With another round of edits it would be an easy 4 or 5 star review。Part of the book are fictional 1st person stories of experiencing severe psychiatric conditions。 Then it’s the authors actual experience with being a resident helping people with the disorders。 Then it’s a exploration of the wonders of optogenetics。It’s a bit all over the place。 Who is the audience for this book？ What is the take away？ A different format or consistency in the chap I would classify this as experimental nonfiction。 With another round of edits it would be an easy 4 or 5 star review。Part of the book are fictional 1st person stories of experiencing severe psychiatric conditions。 Then it’s the authors actual experience with being a resident helping people with the disorders。 Then it’s a exploration of the wonders of optogenetics。It’s a bit all over the place。 Who is the audience for this book？ What is the take away？ A different format or consistency in the chapters in terms of always having the 1st person narritive would have gone a long way。 。。。more
jafamiz
，