carriehall1987's review against another edition
4.0
Fascinating, exciting, hopeful, and enjoyable, this book is one of the best of its kind in its ability to present a forward-moving and well-paced book. Books by experts summarizing research they are presenting for the general population are rarely so informative and so fun to read.
kimmyp's review against another edition
4.5
I thought this was really interesting and informative. I really liked learning about how the brain works. I just recently read An Immense World by Ed Yong and there was some interesting crossover with that work when he discussed the senses and how they work in the brain. Livewire being used as the terminology as opposed to hardwired. Where many animals brains come out full formed and the can start walking and interacting with the world right away. Their brains are hardwired through time to function the way they need them to, as opposed to a human baby where we are vulnerable for the first few years, but our brains are not fully formed and are influenced and adapt based on our environment and our experiences. This adaptability allows us so much more potential for learning and growth. Some of the parts with scientific terms were a bit beyond me, but the book was written in a way where I felt I could follow along with almost everything he was saying and understood the points he was making. I liked learning about how our brains are. I did not enjoy as much the parts where he suggested we use the brain and how it works to create devises and machines that work like the human brain. It got a little bit too dystopian for my preference, but I guess that’s science to dream about what’s possible. Even if I believe some of it should be left alone.
annikanewland's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
3.75
lmt01's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.25
12211153's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.25
sfreund's review against another edition
5.0
This is like a "explain it to me like I'm 5" on the brain. I really enjoy the information presented in this way on complex topics like the brain. I couldn't point out the different areas of the brain and tell you what each section is responsible for, but regardless I can say I understand pretty much everything this book presented to me.
My takeaway here is really to not underestimate your brain's ability to adapt, and there really is truth to not being able to train your brain as well as you get older, and that's good in it's own way. I hope this knowledge might allow me to consciously be more open to ideas and learn more easily in the years to come.
My takeaway here is really to not underestimate your brain's ability to adapt, and there really is truth to not being able to train your brain as well as you get older, and that's good in it's own way. I hope this knowledge might allow me to consciously be more open to ideas and learn more easily in the years to come.