Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind

Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind | V. S. Ramachandran, Sandra Blakeslee | POP! Thats the sound my brain made every time I turned the page

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Phantoms in the Br...

	Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind V. S. Ramachandran, Sandra Blakeslee William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1998 - 320 pages average customer review:based on 96 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Open your mind

Dr. Ramachandran has the gift of genuis, to be able to notice significant things and make them comprehensible to the layman.

In reviewing some of his more interesting cases over the years, Ramachandran demonstrates just how specific defects of the brain can give us illuminating glimpses into the workings of mind. And so, in exciting, easy to read chapters like "The Secret Life of James Thurber" we encounter the mystery of man who -- due to vision problems -- begins to see his world inhabited by cartoon characters. The answer to why such a phenomenon would occur is is just as intriguing as Thurber's use of it in becoming a cartoon artist.

In "Through the Looking Glass" Ramachandran discusses what happens a stroke causes some of its victims to "forget" half their body.

In "The Unbearable Likeness of Being" Ramachandran turns his attention to a disorder wherein people come under the illusion that beloved family members are actually imposters. In this case, like the one before it, the nature of the "forgetting" says important things about how our brains process reality and what effect that has our sensations of self.

At the end of his book, Ramachandran joins the discussion of consciousness. It's a critical discussion because consciousness becomes to some subtext for soul. In this way, this book could serve as an excellent introduction to other works dealing with the "is consciousness an illusion issue"...excellent both because of its comprehensibility and also its commitment to the idea that in this field, as all other scientific endeavors, we need to let the evidence (and not our predispositions) direct us.

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POP! Thats the sound my brain made every time I turned the page

Oh my goodness! This book BLEW my mind! This is by far the best book out there for anyone who is interested in the strange things our brains do, and why they do them. This book is absolutly fascinating... and surprisingly easy to read! LOVED IT

Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind

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Mind blowing intro to the workings of the human brain

I rate Phantoms in the Brain as one of the best works of nonfiction ever written. It stays true to the author's intent on making the book accessible to lay people and brain surgeons/shrinks alike. Though he humbly compares it to Darwin's Origin of Species only in terms of style, I believe Dr.Ramachandran will be no less important in terms of his contribution to the general public's understanding of the subject. It's an amazing read and makes us take a second look at all percieved anamolies we encounter.

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Interesting but long winded

An interesting book containing some nice facts and intriguing cases but with a lot of padding. It felt like the author was being paid by the word. Books by Oliver Sacks are a better coverage of the subject of the mind because they are much "meatier".

reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, page 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15

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