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Title details for The Idea of the Brain by Matthew Cobb - Available

The Idea of the Brain

The Past and Future of Neuroscience

by Matthew Cobb
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An "elegant", "engrossing" (Carol Tavris, Wall Street Journal) examination of what we think we know about the brain and why — despite technological advances — the workings of our most essential organ remain a mystery.
"I cannot recommend this book strongly enough."—Henry Marsh, author of Do No Harm
For thousands of years, thinkers and scientists have tried to understand what the brain does. Yet, despite the astonishing discoveries of science, we still have only the vaguest idea of how the brain works. In The Idea of the Brain, scientist and historian Matthew Cobb traces how our conception of the brain has evolved over the centuries. Although it might seem to be a story of ever-increasing knowledge of biology, Cobb shows how our ideas about the brain have been shaped by each era's most significant technologies. Today we might think the brain is like a supercomputer. In the past, it has been compared to a telegraph, a telephone exchange, or some kind of hydraulic system. What will we think the brain is like tomorrow, when new technology arises? The result is an essential read for anyone interested in the complex processes that drive science and the forces that have shaped our marvelous brains.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    April 21, 2020

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781541646865

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9781541646865
      • File size: 20862 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Kirkus

      February 15, 2020
      A fresh history and tour d' horizon of "the most complex object in the known universe." Although scientists still struggle to understand the brain, they know a great deal about it; Cobb, a professor of biological sciences, delivers an excellent overview. No one experiences his or her brain, but even the ancients were conscious of their heart, so deep thinkers, led by Aristotle, concluded that it governed human actions, perceptions, and emotions. Some Greeks experimented--on live animals; Cobb's descriptions are not for the squeamish--but "they merely showed that the brain was complicated. Aristotle's heart-centered view remained enormously influential, partly because of his immense prestige but above all because it corresponded to everyday experience." Matters changed only with the scientific revolution, and Cobb writes a riveting account of four centuries of brain research that soon revealed its structure and made slower but steady progress describing its functions, which depend on complex brain cells, neurons, that communicate with each other through electrical signals but don't actually touch. The author ends the "history" section and begins "present" in the mid-20th century. This may puzzle readers, but he has a point. "Since the 1950s," he writes, "our ideas have been dominated by concepts that surged from biology into computing--feedback loops, information, codes and computation, but...some of the most brilliant and influential theoretical intuitions about how nervous systems might 'compute' have turned out to be completely wrong." Although the computer metaphor is showing its age, the digital revolution has produced dazzling progress, allowing scientists to study individual neurons, localize brain activity in living subjects, and manipulate objects by thinking. Cobb concludes that this avalanche of new knowledge hasn't brought us nearer the holy grail of brain research--a neural correlate of consciousness--or led to dramatic advances in treating mental illness or paralysis, but these will happen...eventually. A lucid account of brain research, our current knowledge, and problems yet to be solved.

      COPYRIGHT(2020) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Formats

  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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