Your Brain Is a Time Machine: The Neuroscience and Physics of Time
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- Author：Dean Buonomano
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Summary
The brain - the most complex dynamical system in the known universe - tells， represents， and perceives time in multiple ways。 In this virtuosic work of popular science， neuroscientist and best-selling author Dean Buonomano investigates the intricate relationship between the brain and time: What is time？ Why does time seem to speed up or slow down？ Is our sense that time flows an illusion？ Buonomano presents his own influential theory of how the brain tells time， and he illuminates such concepts as free will， consciousness， spacetime， and relativity from the perspective of a neuroscientist。 Drawing on physics， evolutionary biology， and philosophy， Your Brain Is a Time Machine reveals that the brain’s ultimate purpose may be to predict the future， and thus that your brain is a time machine。
Reviews
Jim Bostjancic
，
Science and Sci-fi buffs might really dig these concepts。。。Some abstruse notions but I really enjoyed his explications into living life in the reality of "now。"His travel visiting descriptions I would describe as "daydreaming" about past experiences， current present choices， and imagining into your unwritten future。。。 Science and Sci-fi buffs might really dig these concepts。。。Some abstruse notions but I really enjoyed his explications into living life in the reality of "now。"His travel visiting descriptions I would describe as "daydreaming" about past experiences， current present choices， and imagining into your unwritten future。。。 。。。more
Tatevik
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I really tried with this book， started to consider it dropping after 10 percent， but reached 30%。 The topic is really interesting。 My problem was that the writer tries to explain you scientifically， but in order to do that he mentions ten more topics。 For me it was a mess。 If that would be a book for my phd， I would skim read it within an hour， use it as a general reference in order to compensate in any way my one hour， maybe get annoyed that I could read it more profoundly to find something mor I really tried with this book， started to consider it dropping after 10 percent， but reached 30%。 The topic is really interesting。 My problem was that the writer tries to explain you scientifically， but in order to do that he mentions ten more topics。 For me it was a mess。 If that would be a book for my phd， I would skim read it within an hour， use it as a general reference in order to compensate in any way my one hour， maybe get annoyed that I could read it more profoundly to find something more useful in the book for a reference and be done with it。I don't in any way underestimate the writer as a scientist or the value the book has in the scientific world， but if he wanted this book to be popular among non professionals， he should have tried to express the ideas in more a systematized manner。 。。。more
Jeff Rudisel
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More tremendous brain wonderment from the neuroscientist who brought us Brain Bugs。The brain's ultimate purpose is predicting the future using lessons from the past and present。 A wonderful and "miraculous" time machine。⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ More tremendous brain wonderment from the neuroscientist who brought us Brain Bugs。The brain's ultimate purpose is predicting the future using lessons from the past and present。 A wonderful and "miraculous" time machine。⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 。。。more
Nina
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Such a great disambiguation of sociobiology of the brain。 Even though as an anthropologist I am already acquainted with most of the phenomenons explained in the book， I very much enjoyed reading about those in a slightly different context。
Hira
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Only starting few chapters were good。 This book went off the road。 Not at all interesting
Zane Eddy
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I had been thinking about time a lot and had thought of it as a tool to describe motion。 This book was exactly what I needed to further flush out my understanding of the concept。 There were some parts， such as the microbiology of biological measurement of time that were tedious， but the discussion of time through physics， neuroscience， and psychology made those parts worth getting through。
John Bleasdale
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Fascinating read about how the mind both perceives and to some extent creates the idea of time。
Sonja
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A fantastic topic， and I read about it a bit from both the neurological angle as well as the physical angle before， but never thought about what it would mean to put both together。 Obviously the book doesn’t have answers， but I have a much better understanding of all the things we just。can’t。explain。 And I am pretty sure it will keep me entertained to spot the different perspectives different sci fi Stories take on Time Travel from now on :D。 However， it is hard and dry to read at times， if I wo A fantastic topic， and I read about it a bit from both the neurological angle as well as the physical angle before， but never thought about what it would mean to put both together。 Obviously the book doesn’t have answers， but I have a much better understanding of all the things we just。can’t。explain。 And I am pretty sure it will keep me entertained to spot the different perspectives different sci fi Stories take on Time Travel from now on :D。 However， it is hard and dry to read at times， if I wouldn’thave known quite a bit about how our brain functions （and I mean down to synaptic processes and the different areas in our brain， from prefrontal cortex to hippocampus） I probably wouldn’t have made it through。 The philosophical aspects also feel sometimes just like being thrown in for good measure without really tying them into the content （especially the final chapter about free will）。 All in all a fascinating topic that just can’t be summarized in just book， but deserves the attempt， with one star subtracted for very dry neurological deep dives and abrupt philosophical detours。 。。。more
Jurgen Verbeeck
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Not the easiest book to read， but raises and partially answers some fundamental questions about our feeling of time and our “feeling” of having a free will。
Marie
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All that really belongs to us is time; even he who has nothing else has that。Your brain is the best time machine you will ever own。We can mentally jump into the future to explore possible scenarios in our future lives in hopes of determining the best course of action in the present。The laws of physics do not assign any special meaning to the direction of time or to any particular moment in time。 The past， the present and the future all stand on equal footing。The past and the future are in some s All that really belongs to us is time; even he who has nothing else has that。Your brain is the best time machine you will ever own。We can mentally jump into the future to explore possible scenarios in our future lives in hopes of determining the best course of action in the present。The laws of physics do not assign any special meaning to the direction of time or to any particular moment in time。 The past， the present and the future all stand on equal footing。The past and the future are in some sense already here。 Humans can mentally hop back and forth。Mental time travel can be both a solution and a cause of our problems。If the past， present and future all coexist， then all choices to be made have already been made。 。。。more
Zosia
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I had a fucking spiritual experience reading this book。 It’s SO GOOD。 You know those teachers who know their shit & are so passionate that they make you love the topic， too？ That’s this book。 It is very science and math heavy and not what I would call a popular science book， but I like my non-fiction like this。 Understanding how my brain perceives time soothed me more than anything else has in a long while。 I can’t explain it， really， but the concepts changed my life。 Goddamn！
Daniela Olivas
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Such a great informative book。 The only downside is that you need some basic knowlege in phisics and neuroscience。
Adrian
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Great time - space dependencies explained。I loved how the author managed to explain the process of change in general， with time being just one of its applications， and then expand further into physics and even psychology。
Luke Mainwaring
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This book expanded my curiosity and confusion about the nature of time， but I have to admit I wasn't emotionally drawn in the way I am with many books。 This might've been because I was distracted living in San Diego This book expanded my curiosity and confusion about the nature of time， but I have to admit I wasn't emotionally drawn in the way I am with many books。 This might've been because I was distracted living in San Diego 。。。more
Chitundu Müller
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Not bad but not great。 The subject of time fascinates me and i always jump at the opportunity to learn more about it。 A lot of material covered in this book I already knew or read about it somewhere else and i have to say this is not the best material on the subject。 For example， the idea that time is an illusion and not an actual entity is explained better in Biocentrism and Beyond Biocentrism by Robert Lanza。 If you are reading about time for the first time in this book you will probably be ta Not bad but not great。 The subject of time fascinates me and i always jump at the opportunity to learn more about it。 A lot of material covered in this book I already knew or read about it somewhere else and i have to say this is not the best material on the subject。 For example， the idea that time is an illusion and not an actual entity is explained better in Biocentrism and Beyond Biocentrism by Robert Lanza。 If you are reading about time for the first time in this book you will probably be taken aback but the aforementioned books by Robert Lanza or any book by Stephen Hawking or Brian Greene do a better job at explaining the nature of time and it's philosophical implications。With that said， I did learn some interesting stuff in this book like how your entire body （via the brain） is a clock。 So many processes in and out of your body depend on some sort of clocking mechanism without even it realising。 Also the retelling or rather summarisation of various scientific concepts （Newtonian Physics， Special Relativity， Electromagnetism， Quantum Mechanics， Evolution etc。） in the context of time was awesome。4 out of 5。 。。。more
Behrooz Parhami
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This book is composed of 12 chapters， numbered 1:00 to 12:00， arranged in two 6-chapter parts entitled “Brain Time” and “The Physical and Mental Nature of Time。”Time—Person—Year—Way—Day。 No， this list of words isn’t from a cognitive test designed to detect the onset of dementia！ These are the five most-frequently used English nouns。 The facts that “time” tops the list and two units of time are in the top five are clear indications of the importance of time in our lives。 Beginning with the latter This book is composed of 12 chapters， numbered 1:00 to 12:00， arranged in two 6-chapter parts entitled “Brain Time” and “The Physical and Mental Nature of Time。”Time—Person—Year—Way—Day。 No， this list of words isn’t from a cognitive test designed to detect the onset of dementia！ These are the five most-frequently used English nouns。 The facts that “time” tops the list and two units of time are in the top five are clear indications of the importance of time in our lives。 Beginning with the latter observation， UCLA neuroscientist Buonomano takes us through a non-stop feast of ideas and challenges。 As we ponder the topic of this book， we “learn that our intuitions and theories about time reveal as much about the nature of time as they do about the architecture and limitations of our brains。”It’s reasonable to expect that a book about time would start by defining the term precisely。 Unfortunately， no such definition exists， despite scientists and philosophers attempting to get a handle on the notion for many centuries。 There has been little progress since 1600 years ago， when Saint Augustine opined: “What then is time？ If no one asks me， I know what it is。 If I wish to explain it to him who asks， I do not know。” We don’t even know whether time exists at all！ A key observation of Buonomano is that we don’t have one internal clock， but several different ones associated with different time scales。 Our internal clocks for telling days and months do not have minute and second hands， so to speak， and the mechanisms we use to measure short time periods， such as how long we have been waiting for our cup of coffee， lack hour and day hands。 And this “multiple clock principle” applies to other animals as well。When we think of memory， our mental record of events， each one time-stamped in some way， we think of reminiscing about the past。 Actually， the sole purpose of memory， from the point of view of evolution， is as a tool for predicting the future。 So， if the same thing has happened at sunset every day over the recent past， we come to expect it to happen at the next sunset。 This is where the brain’s sense of time becomes important to our survival。 Prospective timing （“Remind me to leave in 5 minutes！”） and retrospective timing （“How long ago did Amy leave？”） also have different brain mechanisms。One of the difficulties in dealing with time is that we use the word “time” in three different senses， for which some languages have separate words: a lecture on the nature of time， an event ending on time， and a meeting dragging on for a long time。Buonomano considers the brain to be a time machine for four inter-related reasons。- Remembering past events and their timings， in order to predict the future。- Telling time， a process similar to other computations， such as recognizing a face。- Creating a sense of time; unlike vision or hearing， we don’t have a time organ。- Allowing mental travel， projecting ourselves backward and forward in time。I had previously read several books about the human brain and a few dealing with the physical and philosophical underpinnings of time。 How our brain influences the notion of time and how it is in turn affected by it are the key ideas we learn from this wonderful book。 。。。more
Adkar
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1。 Ultimately it comes to our ability to do mental time travel and choose delayed gratification that has to be done in the present for the future that is going to become the present。 2。 Brain is a product of evolution。 We perceive what evolution has allowed us to perceive for our survival and reproduction。 Although equations exist in physics， colors， sounds and smell don't。 So， for an individual's subjective experience the concept of externalism doesn't really matter。 3。 We need to balance betwe 1。 Ultimately it comes to our ability to do mental time travel and choose delayed gratification that has to be done in the present for the future that is going to become the present。 2。 Brain is a product of evolution。 We perceive what evolution has allowed us to perceive for our survival and reproduction。 Although equations exist in physics， colors， sounds and smell don't。 So， for an individual's subjective experience the concept of externalism doesn't really matter。 3。 We need to balance between mental time travel for out future well being and being in the present to experience the enjoyment of being in the Now and Here。What a great opportunity it is to be alive and that too be a human being with the ability to use the brain - the most complex and sophisticated mechanism in the entire known universe since。 An opportunity to experience the negative entropy （self-preservation） while the all the matter in the universe get disordered due to positive entropy。 。。。more
Mehtap exotiquetv
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Ein perfektes Buch， dass sich zwischen Physik und Neurowissenschaften ansiedelt und mit Hilfe der neuesten Erkentnisse aus der Phyisik die Zeit erklärt。 Haben wir ein Areal im Gehirn， dass für das Zeitverständnis zuständig ist？In diesem Buch vereint sich alles was man in den letzten Jahren über die Zeit gelernt hat。 Von Einsteins Relativitätstheorie， Kappa Effekt bis zu menschlichen Experimenten und deren innere biologische Uhr！ Auch die Schreibweise des Buchs ist auf einem angenehmen Niveau！
Catherine Thompson
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How do we tell time？ What is time， anyway？ Are the past and the future as real as the present？ Can we travel in time？ These are just a few of the questions posed by Dean Buonomano in this book。Buonomano starts off with a look at how the brain tells time， how neurons fire in order to "time" events， and how the circadian rhythms appear to work。 Next， he examines the physics of time， and whether or not time really does "flow"， as we feel it does。 As with most things， time falls apart at the quantum How do we tell time？ What is time， anyway？ Are the past and the future as real as the present？ Can we travel in time？ These are just a few of the questions posed by Dean Buonomano in this book。Buonomano starts off with a look at how the brain tells time， how neurons fire in order to "time" events， and how the circadian rhythms appear to work。 Next， he examines the physics of time， and whether or not time really does "flow"， as we feel it does。 As with most things， time falls apart at the quantum level。 Lastly， he discusses some of the concepts put forward earlier in the book， such as are we living in a 4D block universe in which all time is equally real （past， present， and future） or are we living in a world in which only the present is real？Your Brain Is a Time Machine is one of the most fascinating books I've read。 I never really thought much about the subject of time （except when rushing to the airport！）， simply taking it for granted as you do in daily life。 Now I find myself wondering if everything I've ever done or will do is predetermined （if the eternalist view is correct）， or if my decisions open multiple futures。If you've ever wondered about the nature of time and the brain， this is the book for you。 。。。more
Kunal Sen
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The neuroscience part of the book is informative， explaining how our brain perceives time。 The physics part is less impressive。 I could not avoid remembering Carlo Rovelli's The Order of Time， which deals with the physics and philosophy of time， and is incredibly poetic。 The neuroscience part of the book is informative， explaining how our brain perceives time。 The physics part is less impressive。 I could not avoid remembering Carlo Rovelli's The Order of Time， which deals with the physics and philosophy of time， and is incredibly poetic。 。。。more
Neel Fotedar
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Phenomenal read。 The book does great justice to not only reviewing current understanding of the subjective sense of time （neuroscience） but also the physical object concept of time （physics- space time continuum） As a practicing neurologist， time has always fascinated me and this book is the perfect read to review the current understanding of the subject matter。I think it’s an easy read for anyone （not just neuroscientists or physicists）
Gintas
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Tai matyt geriausia， ką iki šiol esu skaitęs apie smegenis。 Būtų gerai šią knygą turėti ir lietuvišką。
Barbara
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https://podkoldra-deana。blogspot。com/。。。 https://podkoldra-deana。blogspot。com/。。。 。。。more
J TC
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In his book Your Brain is a Time Machine， the author Dean Buonomano focuses in the physic concept of time。 Is time real？ And if he exists is it a continuum of sequences with past， present and future， all well-defined and separated， i。e。， the presentism concept， or the past， present and future coexists simultaneous， i。e。， the eternalism concept。 This is the core stone of the book and throughout the text the author makes some remarks about physics in general， about the brain nervous system functio In his book Your Brain is a Time Machine， the author Dean Buonomano focuses in the physic concept of time。 Is time real？ And if he exists is it a continuum of sequences with past， present and future， all well-defined and separated， i。e。， the presentism concept， or the past， present and future coexists simultaneous， i。e。， the eternalism concept。 This is the core stone of the book and throughout the text the author makes some remarks about physics in general， about the brain nervous system function and about the implication of both concepts on conscience itself and free will。The book starts with a monotonous discussion about “brain clocks” and other organic biorhythms， the author stats to emphasize that nothing in physiology of the neuron is appropriated to work as a clock。 Assuming that this could be true， the author tries to explain how the brain can “measure” time and in what way he his adapted to performed functions required to “time control”。In the brain there is no specific area to control time。 This control can be observed in several areas of the brain， with the development of local neuronal circuits and complicated systems of stimulation or retro control。 But in this discussion the author has an approach that is confuse， not systemized properly。 This results in a poor help for the reader。 For the first 100 pages the book was uninteresting and boring。In the second part pf the book （the second part has an introduction about the history of time measurement that was absolutely unnecessary） the author deepens the physical time with an approach on restrict and general relativity and quantic physics。 This part of the book is much more objective and clearer for the reader。 When I consulted the list of acknowledgments it was obvious why it is so。Although these ideas are beautifully written， I think that there is lapse about time that I need to emphasize。 Being light velocity constant， it´s crystal clear according the relativity laws that time and space must be different in different places of the universe。 Our present here may be our past or future in others places of the universe， i。e。， in others referential。 But here is the busily， these blocks of space are for different referentials and not for the same one。 If this is correct， in my referential only the present exists， with the memory of the past and the perspective of a future to come。 In a single referential present past and future cant coexist。 I think this is true because in a particular referential gravity is maintained。 Only with acceleration occurs this is altered。If laws of physics are constant， when I move at 299。000 km/s （A） light also moves at 300。000km/s。 So if an observer in another system （B） sees that my beam of light moves at 300。000 km/s， that implies， and according to restrict relativity that the space should be compressed and time distended。 But movement is relative and after acceleration and A stabilizes it´s velocity， we could also say that B is moving at 299。000 km/s in relation to A。 So it could be said that is the space in A is compressed and time extended？ I think not。 This only occurs when we have an acceleration of a referential。 Only in that case we have changes in time and space。If this is correct， every time that movement occurs， there is a referential alteration， so in our universe with a huge mosaic of referential we should have different accountabilities for time and space。 But for the same referential there should be only one and present should not coexist with past and future。 At least that what I think。Why velocity is related with time enlargement？ This is a consequence of the Hendrik Lorentz equation （T（me） = T（you） / √1- （v2/c2））。 When our velocity （v2） increases and reaches light velocity （c2） than the T（you） tends to infinite。According to restrict relativity， A） at a constant velocity laws of physics are constant; B） light velocity is constant independently of its fount of emission; C） with acceleration space is shortened and time elongated。 This is very puzzling for me， and very interesting since it can have implications in the so called “block universe”， i。e。， a universe that coexists with time in blocks， with present， past and future coexisting all together。Independently of being in a universe eternalist or presentism， time flows with a fixed direction。 Why with a certain direction？ According to second law of thermodynamics （Ludwig Boltzmann） since the “origin” of the universe – the big bang – all the known universe is increasing it’s entropy。 And is this increase that gives time a sequence from past to future， from low entropy to higher stats of entropy （biological processes can trick and bypass some of this process， through acquisition of information）。 All we know will end in the heights level of entropy。If that is the tendency， why had the universe a start？ According to thermodynamics all have emerged from casual fluctuations of the universe that had put the universe in a very improbable state， i。e。， one with the lowest entropy possible。 Quantic physic has another explanation and according them time flow is a consequence of measurements in a quantic state。But this is my opinion （the sequence of time has presentism characteristic） and not the author point of view （although I don’t quite understand what he stands for）。 According the author there are two visions about time （in true， there is a third perspective。 As the physicist George Ellis had stated， only the past exists。 The present is a wave vibration of the past， and the future is frozen and is yet to come。 There is a place for free will！）， one Eternalism and another with Presentism。 Over its book， Buonomano takes some deductions about the implications of these two perspectives in brain’s time function， free will and accountability for our actions。 For presentism， conscience can be real。 For the eternalism it should be difficult to explain brain functions namely conscience since it would be difficult to rationalize it in a particular time/space block。 Conscience depends on a sequence of frames and cannot be explained in an isolated frame。Nerveless， eternalism points to a pre-existent future。 All scenarios are possible and exists in different blocks。 This is hard to accept and collides with our understanding of free-will， that is much more in line with presentism theories。 This may be so， but， and it is also demonstrated， that when we take a decision our neuronal activation precedes the conscience of the action that we are going to take。 Saying that， our free-will is not so free， and is determined previously to our take of conscience of it。 In other words when we decided one action， the decision was already made in our neuronal network， and was taken without our conscience of it。Another question is about who is moving and flowing through time。 Is time flowing or time stands still， and we are moving through time？ This could be an interesting scenario since if we are moving in a space/time block universe， we could move forward and backward。I think that this movement is somehow achieved in dreams when our conscience disconnects of our image and we are dreaming and watching ourselves。 If this is so， conscience disengages of our image and enters in another referential where space and time have other meanings。 Discuss time concept and its implication on brain function is the purpose of the book， but It was not accomplished because it lacks a clear master line， and many of the data referred are somehow anecdotal （it’s approach to the subject is an excessive popular science）。 Examples given by Buonomano to emphasize brains control of time are so loosely presented that I could added others body examples of time machine: heart rate， stomach hungry， bladder function， or the hair growing （one millimeter every 3 days）， etc。When approaching chronobiology， the author says that the major biological rhythms have a cycle of 24 hours， with a tendency for the majority of people to be a bit longer （this is confirmed in several studies cited by the author）。 According to this data， people will tend to adapt better to progressive shift changes。 This may be so for many people but for some Jet leg is more intense when they travel anti-clockwise。 This may be because for some people the daily biorhythm is higher than 24 hours when for other is smaller。 There are nightingales and owls。 This could be better discussed。Neurons have chronotropic capacity。 This was well established by the author when he described experiences with neuron in culture。 After incubation with a proper photosensitive gene， it was demonstrated that these neurons in culture could anticipated stimulus producing a protein。 So， they have chronotropism ability。Curious is the reference of brain capacity to control smalls amounts of time through the elaboration of neuronal circuits。 The brains have a huge capacity of control smalls amounts of time。 As time intervals increase brain loses this accuracy。 This is important for the control of language （small times are important in oral language， and author gives several examples）， mimicry， Morse code， etc。 But rhythms and mimicry presented by some animals （primates and birds） are dependent on the presence of “mirror neurons” described by Giacomo Rizzolatti in 1937 not just neuronal circuits to control time。 This must be known by the author。One other important issue approached by the author is the way we count time。 There two ways。 One in retrospective: how long as it passed and another one in prospective: how long is this going on。 Both counts are not coincident。 When an action is boring， prospective time is long， but retrospective is short （children’s in a car travel）。 When an action is exiting， prospective time is short but retrospective time is long。 This is remarkably interesting but does not allow the author to assume that this may be the justification for time stands still in traumatic situation and in their evocation in post-traumatic stress。 In post-traumatic stress it is the sensitive memory that works。 We may not remember what had happened （point by point）， but we recall what we had felt。 Therefore， small things like sounds， lights， or pictures can trigger post-traumatic stress events。According to Einstein， all physical event that can be reproductible can be used in time measurement。 In neuronal tissues vibrations and their neurological progressions and depolarization can be used as time device。 But I do not believe that brain builds neuronal networks each time that we want to control time。 I know if my pen follows into the flor it takes 100 ms and a sheet of paper takes 3 x more。 My brain can compare times and do not need to build a neuronal circuit each time that he wants to act like a chronometer。In the description of time control Buonomano also refers neuroplasticity， neuronal alternance activation， and refractory periods after stimulus as important tools for brain time control。 In cerebral function chaos theory are certainly applied。 Small variations may have huge differences in the outcome。There is enough evidence that our interactions with reality starts with a relation with space （this had been demonstrated in children） and time perception is secondary to space perception。 This may be true but does not justified the author suggestion that our time reality is block based and present， past and future can coexist simultaneously。 But the question: is time a reality or a construct of our mind？， still remainsA construct or not， I think is an illusory question since every biological process has the some direction。 The strange case of Benjamin Button is only a picture， and never observed in real live。So， it seems that time flows。 For many psychologists a mental time travel （as the capacity of anticipate the future） is a cognitive capacity of evolved animals。 This may be so， but there are many obvious supports that many animals can plan and anticipate the actions of rivals （for food and mates） and predators。 But undoubtedly for humans this capacity is loudly higher。For future planning we must to resort to our memory。 Buonomano divides memories in episodic and semantic。 Episodic memory is a descriptive one。 It is a memory without time。 We know that the capital of France is Paris， but we do not know when we had learned that。 In the semantic memoir we know facts and recognized when they happened。 This kind of memory is located in time。 This is probably true， but this is a sensitive memory， and sensitive souvenirs tend to persist longer in our memory。 In a traumatic event we may not know exactly what happened but we never forget what we had felt。 As I have said， this underlies the post-traumatic events。Curious is the fact of people with amnesia could not plan the future （fact also experimentally demonstrated）。 Future planning is also a cultural characteristic。 For instance， the Brazilians Indians Pirahãs， do not plan the future more than some days ahead。 When the linguist a missionary Daniel Everett had try to catholicize them， they asked if the missionary had known Jesus。 As he told them he did not， they don’t show any interest of knowing Jesus。 The result was the conversation of the missionary to atheism。This book addresses time in a physical approach， what results in two concepts: eternalism and presentism。 Both concepts have several implications on ethics， moral and physiological issues， and the author discuss these implications and also their consequences on conscience itself。 Doing that， and for me one of the major flaws of the book is the author’s approach on conscience without （not one， but several and important） references to António Damásio work。 No one can discuss conscience without knowing Damasio theories on the matter。 。。。more
Rachael
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As a disclaimer， I am not in any graduate school or received a graduate school education in this field。 I am interested in pursuing it in time， but this review was written when I do not have that education。I learned quite a bit in this book and gained a bit more of an understanding of how we may interpret time as well as how neuroscience can aid in our understanding of time。 I did have a hard time finishing the book， and I believe that is simply because the writing was difficult for me to enjoy。 As a disclaimer， I am not in any graduate school or received a graduate school education in this field。 I am interested in pursuing it in time， but this review was written when I do not have that education。I learned quite a bit in this book and gained a bit more of an understanding of how we may interpret time as well as how neuroscience can aid in our understanding of time。 I did have a hard time finishing the book， and I believe that is simply because the writing was difficult for me to enjoy。 One does not need to know a lot of physics to be able to follow， as Dean Buonomano wrote a section going into the physics that is relevant to his points。 The organization was well done and I was able to get a good grasp of the information at the end。 Very well done， the only reason it is not a 5/5 for me is because of how I personally struggled with the writing。 。。。more
Ogi Ogas
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My ratings of books on Goodreads are solely a crude ranking of their utility to me， and not an evaluation of literary merit， entertainment value， social importance， humor， insightfulness， scientific accuracy， creative vigor， suspensefulness of plot， depth of characters， vitality of theme， excitement of climax， satisfaction of ending， or any other combination of dimensions of value which we are expected to boil down through some fabulous alchemy into a single digit。
Robert
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I am fascinated by the nature of time and particularly by how the brain processes time so I thought I would learn a lot about it here， but I wasn't really satisfied。The fault is not entirely Buonomano's: it turns out we don't really know that much about how the brain experiences time。So Buonomano weaves together a lot of musings about several different aspects of time including entropy， relativity， circadian rhythms and philosophy， but only hints at the neuroscience of time。But like I said， the I am fascinated by the nature of time and particularly by how the brain processes time so I thought I would learn a lot about it here， but I wasn't really satisfied。The fault is not entirely Buonomano's: it turns out we don't really know that much about how the brain experiences time。So Buonomano weaves together a lot of musings about several different aspects of time including entropy， relativity， circadian rhythms and philosophy， but only hints at the neuroscience of time。But like I said， the disappointment is due to my expectations， I was hoping to get much more concrete answers。 。。。more
Megan Asche
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The human brain is a complex system that not only tells time， but creates it; it constructs our sense of chronological movement and enables "mental time travel"―simulations of future and past events。 The human brain is a complex system that not only tells time， but creates it; it constructs our sense of chronological movement and enables "mental time travel"―simulations of future and past events。 。。。more
Clark B。 Herring
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one of the best books I ahve read about the human brain。 focuses on how humans experiennce time。 well worth the time to read。 Sorry I could not resist。
Raluca
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