Reviews
A Brief Tour of Human Consciousness: From Impostor Poodles to Purple Numbers by V. S. Ramachandran
beak's review
3.0
Interesting stuff, though the book felt more like a teaser than full-length. Nonetheless, a good introduction to the neurology underneath consciousness, and invites consideration of consciousness as a crossroads between objective and subjective 'reality'.
djfreshjams's review
3.0
a decent overview of topics in cognitive neuroscience, but the author is kind of annoying and it's a wasted read if you're at all familiar with the subject already.
introvertedbear's review
3.0
I had to read this for a psychology decision-making class, but this book has nothing to do with decision-making (I blame my teacher for that one).
The book has five different chapters and lots of notes, taking a crack at different concepts of human consciousness. Each chapter addresses a different theme, and so the chapters don't flow into each other.
The chapters start with scientific evidence, mostly from case studies and Ramachandran's own research. The style is very accessible and Ramachandran breaks it down into easy to understand terms, even if you've never had a psychology class before. The bad thing is that Ramachandran loves to theorize about things, and he backs his theories with scientific evidence. However, that evidence comes from case studies and sometimes unpublished data, and so, technically, since case studies are specifically about one person or event, case studies aren't too reliable as scientific evidence. It's impossible to know if one case is representative of all cases or just an exception.
That being said, the book is definitely an interesting view of human consciousness, but it's mostly just theories. I advise you to read it with caution, making sure to note exactly when he's talking about scientifically proven ideas and when he's discussing his personal view on theory.
The book has five different chapters and lots of notes, taking a crack at different concepts of human consciousness. Each chapter addresses a different theme, and so the chapters don't flow into each other.
The chapters start with scientific evidence, mostly from case studies and Ramachandran's own research. The style is very accessible and Ramachandran breaks it down into easy to understand terms, even if you've never had a psychology class before. The bad thing is that Ramachandran loves to theorize about things, and he backs his theories with scientific evidence. However, that evidence comes from case studies and sometimes unpublished data, and so, technically, since case studies are specifically about one person or event, case studies aren't too reliable as scientific evidence. It's impossible to know if one case is representative of all cases or just an exception.
That being said, the book is definitely an interesting view of human consciousness, but it's mostly just theories. I advise you to read it with caution, making sure to note exactly when he's talking about scientifically proven ideas and when he's discussing his personal view on theory.
lolaleviathan's review
3.0
I knew Ramachandran from his regular appearances on WNYC's Radio Lab, and this series of lectures is written in the same accessible but professorial tone--replete with the same delightfully dorky jokes. As a scientist and a doctor, Ramachandran is indefatigably innovative and playful, incorporating aesthetics and philosophy into his investigations of bizarre neutoscientific phenomena.
scorpiopersephone's review
3.0
Interesting factual work on neurology convoluted by author’s unsubstantiated opinion and terrible quips.
mrigoo's review
4.0
This book is bit repetitive if you have read his other books but is still as profound and thought provocative. VRS is Sherlock masquerading as a neuroscientist, his has correctly deduced neuronal mechanisms for seemingly arcane conditions.
lisarue's review against another edition
3.0
This book is a *tantalizingly* brief tour. I believe it was derived from some talks, which explains its briefness. Some of it almost seemed like brainstorming on what could possibly explain various aspects of human consciousness, and that kind of brainstorming is also probably more exciting and appropriate in a talk than in a scholarly book. So: short, good, but a little frustrating in lack of depth.