The Idiot Brain

Absolutely enjoying reading this novel, back when I purchased in 2018 or thereabout, I used to think brain is the only organ which was infallible, how wrong I was! It was fascinating and equal parts educational to learn about how brain functions.

I liked the way the book is paced. The language used was simple and easy to understand. However there were some chapters that I had to read more than once. That might be because I am new to the terms. But I liked the way the author dispelled some of the common myths associated with the brain. Worth a read for the curious brain. No pun intended.

Amazing Book

The Idiot Brain is one of its kind. I will highly recommend it for someone who want to know how amazing brain is while being stupid sometimes.

I might have been expecting too much from this book. It’s only a neuroscience 101 for people who don’t have much introductory knowledge to the subject. Readers expecting more technical scientific learning will not find much new to absorb that they don’t get from regular news sources and websites anyway. Still it’s nice to have this neuroscience refresher in one book for a quick study over but it did not interest long enough to keep reading at a binge. It was too easy to put down and not pick up, I soon switched to more challenging titles

If you want to know about quirkiness of brain.... this book is for you

Funny, informative,

Enjoyed reading this. The author is describing a complex subject as simply as one possibly can.

Carrying out some 'research' (good old Google Wandering) I stumbled across 'Brain Flapping', Dean Burnett's blog at The Guardian. I found myself laughing at the words of a somewhat a-typical neuroscientist, and understanding them, too. No, really. And thus I picked up Burnett's first book: The Idiot Brain. I expected to dip in and out, be amused for ten minutes, and need a lie down for the next, but not so. I read it in two days. This is a book about how the brain works, with its heavy emphasis on it not being as clever as we've been brought up to think. OK, our brain is clever, very clever to cope with the 21st century demands on it, but it's also full of clutter, the detritus of evolutionary development from a pre-stone age brain. Sometimes, often, it hiccups. Burnett describes the brain's workings in a simple, logical and yet imaginative way – not easy to do I'm sure. It's also a very comforting read. Now that it's been explained, I feel vindicated for remembering everything about someone except their name. It's also OK to get angry sometimes. In fact, it's really rather good, particularly if your reputation and social standing are at risk. Self-doubt? It's a social skill. Even Einstein thought that his intelligence was fake and that one day he would be found out. And beware if you pride yourself on your debating skills. There's a whole section on why it's often less intelligent people, or the uninformed, who win the arguments. Just saying. Memory has always fascinated me – why one person can have a cabinet of quiz trophies but not remember their partner's birthday, or vice versa – so I was particularly interested in the long sections on this. Were you aware, for instance, that our short term memory is, at most, one minute long? For up to sixty seconds we can, at best, remember four measly items. Four! If our brain decides we need the items for longer, then it might consider moving them into our long-term memory but not without significant effort. There are ways we can boost the volume of short term memory, constructing random words into a sentence or mnemonic, for example, because one sentence, as opposed to one word, can count as one of your four remembered items. But even then, the short term memory is pretty limited. Another comfort. It explains why we can wander into a room and forget what possessed us to go there in the first place. En route, something much more important to survival swooped into the tally of remembered items and out ranked the empty cup you'd clocked when you passed with your arms full of washing. But no need to panic. If the reason you ran into the room was to escape a wild boar, you would remember to close the door behind you and wouldn’t wander off instead to make the beds. It's a restricted brain, an Idiot Brain, but it's very good at survival. I loved this book. I felt like I was effortlessly learning a little about a fascinating field of which I'm pretty ignorant. The anecdotal style of writing kept me amused - I heard that Dean Burnett does a bit of stand-up and that doesn't surprise me. And I'm relieved to learn that my brain's idiotic catastrophic misses, are simply the product of the 21st century's messy brain. If you'd like to understand a little more about what it is to be human but don't have the time or inclination to return to study, this one's for you.

Dean Burnett mudou bastante minha visão sobre o mundo (ou seria sobre mim mesmo?). Tudo que eu acreditava saber sobre mim mesmo foi por água abaixo...

An interesting, deep, and educational book, but at times also amusing. Not too heavy a read, nor too superficial. Very nice.

Excellent book, easy to read. This Neuroscientist doesn't talk down to his readers and since he hobbies in Stand-up Comedy, his humour comes out in his writing, making it entertaining as well as educational.

First, with a five star rating I obviously enjoyed it. I'm not exactly sure if there is a particular target audience for this book but suspect many may get bogged down in unfamiliar vocabulary unless they have a biology or psychology background, which I do. But, I do not think that type of background is necessary to enjoy this book and only mention it if you cringe at the thought of any discussions involving brain anatomy and neurotransmitters; the author is a funny neuroscientist after all so it should be expected. The book is well written with humor effectively used to make important points. It is an easy read that I enjoyed on a cruise. I found it to be a very good summary of what is currently understood in human biology/psychology as it relates to our behavior and think it would be excellent mandatory reading toward the end of an undergraduate degree program. The simplicity and humor in all the chapters demonstrates how well the author understands the material and certain he would be a delight to listen to in person. Great book!