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tani's review against another edition
3.0
Another one bites the dust! I've had this book on my to-read list basically since I joined Goodreads, so it feels so nice to get it off of there!
So, the first 2/3rds of this book focuses on synesthesia, an interesting phenomenon where a person's senses are intertwined. Each person is individual, so one person might taste shapes, as in the title of the book, whereas another may see colors in connection to sounds, or taste different colors. Which is interesting, but maybe not enough to carry a book, at least for me. I enjoyed the book, but I definitely had a couple issues with it.
Part of this was stylistic. There are a lot of conversations in here, and it's kind of weird in a nonfiction book. I appreciate that Cytowic is illustrating how things happened, but the conversations just felt strange and stilted. The age of the book also works against it. There's a lot of time spent explaining theories that are old enough that I never learned them in the first place, which felt like time wasted for me.
On the other hand, there's a lot to like. Cytowic's got a brilliant mind, and it's fascinating to see how it works. It's also really interesting to learn more about that time and the climate in the medical field. Behaviorism was really strong at the time, so it's fun to see how Cytowic deals with that. I also really liked the essays at the end of the book, which range through a variety of topics, many of which still feel pretty current.
In sum, an enjoyable work that didn't blow me away, but that I don't regret spending my time on.
So, the first 2/3rds of this book focuses on synesthesia, an interesting phenomenon where a person's senses are intertwined. Each person is individual, so one person might taste shapes, as in the title of the book, whereas another may see colors in connection to sounds, or taste different colors. Which is interesting, but maybe not enough to carry a book, at least for me. I enjoyed the book, but I definitely had a couple issues with it.
Part of this was stylistic. There are a lot of conversations in here, and it's kind of weird in a nonfiction book. I appreciate that Cytowic is illustrating how things happened, but the conversations just felt strange and stilted. The age of the book also works against it. There's a lot of time spent explaining theories that are old enough that I never learned them in the first place, which felt like time wasted for me.
On the other hand, there's a lot to like. Cytowic's got a brilliant mind, and it's fascinating to see how it works. It's also really interesting to learn more about that time and the climate in the medical field. Behaviorism was really strong at the time, so it's fun to see how Cytowic deals with that. I also really liked the essays at the end of the book, which range through a variety of topics, many of which still feel pretty current.
In sum, an enjoyable work that didn't blow me away, but that I don't regret spending my time on.
ovvlish's review against another edition
5.0
This is instantly one of my new favorite books. Not only does it address the science behind one of my favorite medical oddities, but Cytowic is a poet. This is one of those precious books that reminds me why I loved biology in school, and why I find the life sciences to be so crucial to my development as a thinking person. Part 1 is what the book advertises, but presented with such compassion, curiousity, and intimacy that it's better than I could have hoped from a synopsis such as is given us. Part 2 has me breathless, because it's like Cytowic reached into my head and my heart and properly articulated how I feel about the ideas of science and religion, and how they are not separate in any of us, and when an individual tries to separate them, they become the real monstrous scientists fiction warned us about, devoid of heart, morals, and humanity. Even better, Cytowic's part 2, which consists of 11 short essays, aligned some common platitudes about emotional wellbeing in such a way that I finally understand how I might make use of them - meditation, accepting what I cannot change, using rational thinking WITH my emotions, not against them. All of this as the result of a career of exploring, discovering, and most importantly, treating those who see things differently like the people they are.
Five stars isn't enough, and it's a damn shame this book is out of print. Cytowic put out a new book recently, which I want to read next.
Five stars isn't enough, and it's a damn shame this book is out of print. Cytowic put out a new book recently, which I want to read next.
djfreshjams's review against another edition
1.0
This book is all over the place in content and absolutely unbearable in form.
scarlettletters's review against another edition
3.0
It took me what felt like forever to read this book, even though it isn't very long. There were some really interesting anecdotal parts about the main synesthetic subject of the book. The author also makes clear his disappointment with the medical industry/machine which was interesting to me but there were parts of it that just moved really slowly.
lanikei's review against another edition
2.0
This book is endlessly boring despite a fascinating subject matter. Kind of a shame. Or maybe it just wasn't a book to try to read before bed.
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