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Reviews elsewhere on the web:

Chris Frith

Making up the mind

When we percieve something via our senses the process seems fairly straightforward. In Making up the mind: how the brain creates our mental world , however, Chris Frith shows that there's a lot more going on behind the scenes than you might think.

The book starts by looking at studies of people with damage to part of their brain and what this can tell us about how the brain works. For instance there's the phenomenon of blindsight where someone can't consciously see things, but unconsciously knows that they are there. Also some stroke patients may be paralysed in part of their body, but have a condition known as anosognosia where they are convinced that they are perfectly OK. But even the normal brain can have tricks played upon it, for instance the Ames room, where we see people as being impossibly different sizes rather than interpreting it as a distorted room (which it is). Later in the book Frith looks at the way our brains form a model of what our bodies are doing, and why it is impossible to tickle yourself. He then discusses bayesian statistics and how our brains are often much better at using it that we ourselves. He also considers how we form a model of the minds of other people, and why working out the intentions of others is so important. This leads on to a consideration of how society is made up of shared mental models.

I'd recommend this book to all readers, in fact I'm rather surprised that it didn't make it to the shortlist of the 2008 Royal Society Prizes. It's easy to read, fairly short, but packs in plenty of information. When I'd finished it I found that there were plenty of things I wanted to find out more about - always the sign of a good book.

Amazon.com info

Paperback 248 pages
ISBN: 1405160225
Salesrank: 79261
Weight:0.84 lbs

Published: 2007 Wiley-Blackwell

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Amazon.co.uk info

Paperback 248 pages
ISBN: 1405160225
Salesrank: 16125
Weight:0.84 lbs

Published: 2007 Blackwell Publishing

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Amazon.ca info

Paperback 248 pages
ISBN: 1405160225
Salesrank: 4176
Weight:0.84 lbs

Published: 2007 Wiley-Blackwell

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Product Description
Written by one of the world’s leading neuroscientists, Making Up the Mind is the first accessible account of experimental studies showing how the brain creates our mental world. Uses evidence from brain imaging, psychological experiments and studies of patients to explore the relationship between the mind and the brain Demonstrates that our knowledge of both the mental and physical comes to us through models created by our brain Shows how the brain makes communication of ideas from one mind to another possible

Product Description

Written by one of the world’s leading neuroscientists, Making Up the Mind is the first accessible account of experimental studies showing how the brain creates our mental world.

Uses evidence from brain imaging, psychological experiments and studies of patients to explore the relationship between the mind and the brain
Demonstrates that our knowledge of both the mental and physical comes to us through models created by our brain
Shows how the brain makes communication of ideas from one mind to another possible

Neat Book About How the Brain Models the World ***
For whatever reason, I had a hard time in trying to understand exactly what the main thesis of the book is. What exactly does the book's subtitle 'How the Brain Creates Our Mental World' mean? Is it about the physical/neurological mechanics of how the brain works? Is it about what conciousness is? Is it about psychology? I think I understand it now. The theme of the book is rather simple - everything that you are aware of (the physical world, other people's minds and your own body), are actually models created by the brain. And how does the brain creates these models? Using various ways such Baysian mechanics, predictions-feedback and associative learning. The writing style is quite enlightening - full of humour and littered with antedotes, facts and interesting experiments. The use of the English Professor is simply brilliant and engaging. The numerous footnotes can be rather disruptive to the flow of reading at times. I wish the book could do more with the 'serious' side of science - such as properly define the terminologies (i.e. mind, awareness, brains), or add a chapter on the latest and greatest scientific/philosophical advances to keep readers wanting to find out more about the brain/conciousness after this book. Overall, fine book to keep if you are interested in neuroscience and psychology.

Neat Book About How the Brain Models the World ***

For whatever reason, I had a hard time in trying to understand exactly what the main thesis of the book is. What exactly does the book's subtitle 'How the Brain Creates Our Mental World' mean? Is it about the physical/neurological mechanics of how the brain works? Is it about what conciousness is? Is it about psychology?

I think I understand it now. The theme of the book is rather simple - everything that you are aware of (the physical world, other people's minds and your own body), are actually models created by the brain.

And how does the brain creates these models? Using various ways such Baysian mechanics, predictions-feedback and associative learning.

The writing style is quite enlightening - full of humour and littered with antedotes, facts and interesting experiments. The use of the English Professor is simply brilliant and engaging. The numerous footnotes can be rather disruptive to the flow of reading at times.

I wish the book could do more with the 'serious' side of science - such as properly define the terminologies (i.e. mind, awareness, brains), or add a chapter on the latest and greatest scientific/philosophical advances to keep readers wanting to find out more about the brain/conciousness after this book.

Overall, fine book to keep if you are interested in neuroscience and psychology.

One caveat *****
This is a superb book, but I have one caveat. I purchased a new hard bound copy, for about 55 bucks, no less. Part way into it I kept finding references to color plates, but although the book is fairly profusely illustrated the color plate section was totally absent. I returned it and ordered the softcover edition, which turned out to include the color plates. I really wanted the hardcover copy, and contacted Wiley-Blackwell to find out whether the printer had corrected this mistake. They said they would look into it, but never got back to me. I would be curious to know whether anyone else who purchased the hard cover edition experienced a similar problem?

One caveat *****

This is a superb book, but I have one caveat. I purchased a new hard bound copy, for about 55 bucks, no less. Part way into it I kept finding references to color plates, but although the book is fairly profusely illustrated the color plate section was totally absent. I returned it and ordered the softcover edition, which turned out to include the color plates. I really wanted the hardcover copy, and contacted Wiley-Blackwell to find out whether the printer had corrected this mistake. They said they would look into it, but never got back to me.

I would be curious to know whether anyone else who purchased the hard cover edition experienced a similar problem?

Worth reading ****
I have read several books on brain function. This book has little new information, but presents the author's ideas in an easy to understand fashion which would be very helpful to new readers in this area, and might help consolidate old ideas more precisely for those familiar with the subject. An easy read, worth the effort.

Worth reading ****

I have read several books on brain function. This book has little new information, but presents the author's ideas in an easy to understand fashion which would be very helpful to new readers in this area, and might help consolidate old ideas more precisely for those familiar with the subject. An easy read, worth the effort.

Brilliant introduction *****
Frith has a gift at introducing difficult material and making it highly accessible. His writing is playful and efficient. In a very short amount of text, Frith gets it done. Read the other reviews for more detail. I just want to add that the first section is short and unconvincing. Keep reading. The second section is the gem. The third section is short, tantalizing, and reads like an introduction; it needs to be fleshed out into a book of its own. Finally, the design of "The Evidence" chapter (the references) is brilliant - we don't get bogged down on citations in the text but are swiftly guided to the primary literature here.

Brilliant introduction *****

Frith has a gift at introducing difficult material and making it highly accessible. His writing is playful and efficient. In a very short amount of text, Frith gets it done. Read the other reviews for more detail. I just want to add that the first section is short and unconvincing. Keep reading. The second section is the gem. The third section is short, tantalizing, and reads like an introduction; it needs to be fleshed out into a book of its own. Finally, the design of "The Evidence" chapter (the references) is brilliant - we don't get bogged down on citations in the text but are swiftly guided to the primary literature here.

Reality and human perception from an interdisciplinary perspective *****
Introduction "Making Up the Mind: How the Brain Creates our Mental World" by Chris Frith, in a nutshell, explores the mechanisms by which the brain perceives the outside world and what its implications are. This review seeks to provide a synopsis of the book--hopefully without spoilers--as well as my personal opinion about the book. All in all, I believe it was a well-written book that made a good attempt at addressing perception from not only a psychological perspective, but a biological and philosophical perspective as well. Relatively spoiler-free summary The book is divided into 5 sections: a prologue, three parts, and an epilogue. In the prologue, Frith talks about how neuroscience is interdisciplinary in that the knowledge inferred from it pertains to biology, chemistry, the social sciences, and even the liberal arts. However he also points out, there is an unspoken hierarchy within the sciences (as explained by Randall Munroe of xkcd: http://www.xkcd.com/435/), making a distinction between 'hard' sciences and 'soft' sciences. Historically, hard sciences such as physics and chemistry are objective and its results quantifiable, soft sciences are subjective, relying on personal accounts rather than quantifiable data. However, quantifiable data pertaining to human perception became possible with the advent of new medical imaging technologies such as functional magnetic resonance imaging. From here, he divulges into three main parts of the book. The first part of the book, titled 'Seeing through the Brain's Illusions,' talks about the different means by which the brain fills in missing parts from the body's relatively crude sensory information. The second part of the book, titled 'How the Brain Does It,' focuses more on internal factors that contribute to perception as well as evolutionary bases of why we perceive things the way we do. The third part of the book, titled 'Culture and the Brain,' talks about how these factors affect interpersonal communication and its impact on society and culture. Stylistic opinion of the book George W. Bush once said that "one of the great things about books is sometimes there are some fantastic pictures." When taken out of context, this quote pertains to this book rather well. It is hard enough to tell a person what they perceive, let alone do it in a book. Thus, most if not all of the figures he includes with the text illustrate his points and examples rather eloquently. The most common examples he uses are optical illusions. While they are rather overused, Frith puts them into context by giving them psychological bases explaining why they appear the way they do. Also, as every good scientist does, he cites experimental evidence conducted by others throughout his paper. Where Frith differs from other scientists is that he explains this evidence in detail and in such a way that it's comprehendible, often including figures to illustrate experimental setups--something that would've been nigh impossible to convey to the reader through written words alone. Another thing that stood out was the abundance of footnotes laced throughout the book. While many of them provide superfluous yet relevant information, others are either random factoids or interjections exhibiting the writer's wit. I personally see this as a double-edged sword. I find Frist's humor both enjoyable and refreshing and made this book even more enjoyable than it already is; however, the footnotes interrupt the flow of reading the book and I found myself mildly frustrated a few times when I discovered a footnote bore no worthwhile information pertaining to what it claimed to annotate. One final thing that I found unique was the introduction of the Professor of English, a friend of the narrator. The Professor of English was a recurring character that Frith used as a vehicle to deliver a philosophical (or at least an unscientific) viewpoint to challenge Frith's inferences on perception. While extremely effective, I also find it funny how Frith, having a background in psychology (and thus being at the lower end of the scientific food chain), was so quick to introduce a caricature he obviously didn't take 100% seriously. Materialistic opinion of book Frith cites his sources for every claim I've seen him make in this book. For some of his examples, particularly the ones involving optical illusions, they aren't necessary; however, they are necessary for some of the other claims he makes--particularly those that don't come off as intuitive to the reader. For example, Frith made a claim about how infants perceive actions as goal-oriented and not movement-oriented and cites a study by Bekkering, H. et al. where an experimenter told infants to imitate their actions. So I can't help but agree with the claims he's made throughout the book because of the rigorous annotations he's made. Having said this, there is one thing where Frith's inferences aren't as airtight as I would like. One thing I noticed was his claim that fMRI imaging made perception objective because the same areas of the brain show activity between different people with certain stimuli. I don't think this is a failsafe way to infer that one person is thinking what another person is thinking because the functional topology of the cortex is ever-changing. Indeed, in talking about phantom limb syndrome, Frith speaks about the `remapping' of the cerebral cortex following the amputation of a limb, and that functional remapping is a normal process. Since the topological areas of the cortex aren't strictly defined, there is a small yet real chance that the activation of the same brain area in two individuals may lead to two very different sensations. However, the foremost expert in phantom limb syndrome (V.A. Ramachandran) did give this book a positive review, calling it "a fascinating guided tour through the elusive interface between mind and brain written by a pioneer in the field." I guess if he's okay with it, I'm okay with it. Final thoughts Frith's book talks about a very complicated topic--human perception--and delivers it in a very concise and accessible manner. As a biomedical engineer-in-training with a heavy concentration in neuroscience, I found this book somewhat light when it came to describing the neural mechanisms of perception; however, I also believe that any further elaboration on the matters may alienate a reader who didn't have my background. Even so, I feel I learned a lot about how humans (and animals) perceive the world and how our brains fill in the blanks that our sensory periphery leaves out. Thus, I feel that anyone, be it someone who has a college-level understanding of neuroscience or a layperson who wants to learn more about human perception, would be able to learn a lot about themselves and their surrounding world.

Reality and human perception from an interdisciplinary perspective *****

Introduction

"Making Up the Mind: How the Brain Creates our Mental World" by Chris Frith, in a nutshell, explores the mechanisms by which the brain perceives the outside world and what its implications are. This review seeks to provide a synopsis of the book--hopefully without spoilers--as well as my personal opinion about the book. All in all, I believe it was a well-written book that made a good attempt at addressing perception from not only a psychological perspective, but a biological and philosophical perspective as well.

Relatively spoiler-free summary

The book is divided into 5 sections: a prologue, three parts, and an epilogue. In the prologue, Frith talks about how neuroscience is interdisciplinary in that the knowledge inferred from it pertains to biology, chemistry, the social sciences, and even the liberal arts. However he also points out, there is an unspoken hierarchy within the sciences (as explained by Randall Munroe of xkcd: http://www.xkcd.com/435/), making a distinction between 'hard' sciences and 'soft' sciences. Historically, hard sciences such as physics and chemistry are objective and its results quantifiable, soft sciences are subjective, relying on personal accounts rather than quantifiable data. However, quantifiable data pertaining to human perception became possible with the advent of new medical imaging technologies such as functional magnetic resonance imaging. From here, he divulges into three main parts of the book.

The first part of the book, titled 'Seeing through the Brain's Illusions,' talks about the different means by which the brain fills in missing parts from the body's relatively crude sensory information. The second part of the book, titled 'How the Brain Does It,' focuses more on internal factors that contribute to perception as well as evolutionary bases of why we perceive things the way we do. The third part of the book, titled 'Culture and the Brain,' talks about how these factors affect interpersonal communication and its impact on society and culture.

Stylistic opinion of the book

George W. Bush once said that "one of the great things about books is sometimes there are some fantastic pictures." When taken out of context, this quote pertains to this book rather well. It is hard enough to tell a person what they perceive, let alone do it in a book. Thus, most if not all of the figures he includes with the text illustrate his points and examples rather eloquently. The most common examples he uses are optical illusions. While they are rather overused, Frith puts them into context by giving them psychological bases explaining why they appear the way they do. Also, as every good scientist does, he cites experimental evidence conducted by others throughout his paper. Where Frith differs from other scientists is that he explains this evidence in detail and in such a way that it's comprehendible, often including figures to illustrate experimental setups--something that would've been nigh impossible to convey to the reader through written words alone.

Another thing that stood out was the abundance of footnotes laced throughout the book. While many of them provide superfluous yet relevant information, others are either random factoids or interjections exhibiting the writer's wit. I personally see this as a double-edged sword. I find Frist's humor both enjoyable and refreshing and made this book even more enjoyable than it already is; however, the footnotes interrupt the flow of reading the book and I found myself mildly frustrated a few times when I discovered a footnote bore no worthwhile information pertaining to what it claimed to annotate.

One final thing that I found unique was the introduction of the Professor of English, a friend of the narrator. The Professor of English was a recurring character that Frith used as a vehicle to deliver a philosophical (or at least an unscientific) viewpoint to challenge Frith's inferences on perception. While extremely effective, I also find it funny how Frith, having a background in psychology (and thus being at the lower end of the scientific food chain), was so quick to introduce a caricature he obviously didn't take 100% seriously.

Materialistic opinion of book

Frith cites his sources for every claim I've seen him make in this book. For some of his examples, particularly the ones involving optical illusions, they aren't necessary; however, they are necessary for some of the other claims he makes--particularly those that don't come off as intuitive to the reader. For example, Frith made a claim about how infants perceive actions as goal-oriented and not movement-oriented and cites a study by Bekkering, H. et al. where an experimenter told infants to imitate their actions. So I can't help but agree with the claims he's made throughout the book because of the rigorous annotations he's made.

Having said this, there is one thing where Frith's inferences aren't as airtight as I would like. One thing I noticed was his claim that fMRI imaging made perception objective because the same areas of the brain show activity between different people with certain stimuli. I don't think this is a failsafe way to infer that one person is thinking what another person is thinking because the functional topology of the cortex is ever-changing. Indeed, in talking about phantom limb syndrome, Frith speaks about the `remapping' of the cerebral cortex following the amputation of a limb, and that functional remapping is a normal process. Since the topological areas of the cortex aren't strictly defined, there is a small yet real chance that the activation of the same brain area in two individuals may lead to two very different sensations. However, the foremost expert in phantom limb syndrome (V.A. Ramachandran) did give this book a positive review, calling it "a fascinating guided tour through the elusive interface between mind and brain written by a pioneer in the field." I guess if he's okay with it, I'm okay with it.

Final thoughts

Frith's book talks about a very complicated topic--human perception--and delivers it in a very concise and accessible manner. As a biomedical engineer-in-training with a heavy concentration in neuroscience, I found this book somewhat light when it came to describing the neural mechanisms of perception; however, I also believe that any further elaboration on the matters may alienate a reader who didn't have my background. Even so, I feel I learned a lot about how humans (and animals) perceive the world and how our brains fill in the blanks that our sensory periphery leaves out. Thus, I feel that anyone, be it someone who has a college-level understanding of neuroscience or a layperson who wants to learn more about human perception, would be able to learn a lot about themselves and their surrounding world.

The modeling machine *****
This book brilliantly describes the view of the brain as a modeling machine, the place of our mind in the generated model, and the limitations of the mind with respect to the "real" world. Other writers have also touched on the model concept, but this is the first time I see it spelled out loud. This is a must read for anyone interested in the mind and brain relation!

The modeling machine *****

This book brilliantly describes the view of the brain as a modeling machine, the place of our mind in the generated model, and the limitations of the mind with respect to the "real" world. Other writers have also touched on the model concept, but this is the first time I see it spelled out loud. This is a must read for anyone interested in the mind and brain relation!

An ideal introduction to the interface between the brain and mind *****
This popular science book, written by one of the most prominent cognitive neuroscientists in the world, explores the current evidence of how our brains generate our mental image of ourselves and the world. He first outlines how our brains give us an image of ourselves and the world that can deviate frighteningly from reality. Sometimes this is simply because our heavily embedded ideas of our perceptions and beliefs are wrong, but sometimes problems arise due to brain damage. In the second second section, he centres on the brain as a prediction machine, which gives us the power to understand ourselves, our bodies and each other. The book is written extremely clearly, largely without the use of jargon, and although a tad dry in places, includes sufficiently exciting content to keep the reader engaged. Some attempts to make the book more popular worked well, such as occasional idiosyncratic and funny footer notes. I wished these would have taken a more prominent role, and he would have felt more at ease to make far more of these kinds of comments. However, Frith's imaginary conversations with a cynical and anti-scientific English professor feel more like an afterthought, and he could easily have made far more of the idea, had he wished. As a cognitive neuroscience researcher myself, I didn't really learn anything new, as Frith is largely reluctant to speculate on any ideas that haven't already been very firmly established, but I was nevertheless able to appreciate the coherence and intelligence of his explanations, which at times did allow me to view a well-trodden topic afresh. For a layperson, however, I can't think of a better introduction to the interface between the mind and brain than this book.

An ideal introduction to the interface between the brain and mind *****

This popular science book, written by one of the most prominent cognitive neuroscientists in the world, explores the current evidence of how our brains generate our mental image of ourselves and the world. He first outlines how our brains give us an image of ourselves and the world that can deviate frighteningly from reality. Sometimes this is simply because our heavily embedded ideas of our perceptions and beliefs are wrong, but sometimes problems arise due to brain damage. In the second second section, he centres on the brain as a prediction machine, which gives us the power to understand ourselves, our bodies and each other. The book is written extremely clearly, largely without the use of jargon, and although a tad dry in places, includes sufficiently exciting content to keep the reader engaged. Some attempts to make the book more popular worked well, such as occasional idiosyncratic and funny footer notes. I wished these would have taken a more prominent role, and he would have felt more at ease to make far more of these kinds of comments. However, Frith's imaginary conversations with a cynical and anti-scientific English professor feel more like an afterthought, and he could easily have made far more of the idea, had he wished. As a cognitive neuroscience researcher myself, I didn't really learn anything new, as Frith is largely reluctant to speculate on any ideas that haven't already been very firmly established, but I was nevertheless able to appreciate the coherence and intelligence of his explanations, which at times did allow me to view a well-trodden topic afresh. For a layperson, however, I can't think of a better introduction to the interface between the mind and brain than this book.

Disappointed **
Psychology 101 - that's the level of thinking of "MAKING UP THE MIND". Therefore, I couldn't find anything in it to rave about. In his book, Chris Frith offers a light-hearted account of several basic principles of neuropsychology. He provides examples of illusions and fallacies. He points out that much learning occurs by reward and punishment. Can anybody get excited about such rudimentary information? His main message is perhaps that the brain makes "models" of things, and that sometimes the models are wrong. He reasons that truth and progress can emerge from the models, but so can deception and mass delusions. So what? He ends the book by advising the reader to "just go back to the party and have fun". I feel that a well-informed reader probably should stay at the party from beginning to end, rather than waste her time in reading this vacuous book.

Disappointed **

Psychology 101 - that's the level of thinking of "MAKING UP THE MIND". Therefore, I couldn't find anything in it to rave about. In his book, Chris Frith offers a light-hearted account of several basic principles of neuropsychology. He provides examples of illusions and fallacies. He points out that much learning occurs by reward and punishment. Can anybody get excited about such rudimentary information? His main message is perhaps that the brain makes "models" of things, and that sometimes the models are wrong. He reasons that truth and progress can emerge from the models, but so can deception and mass delusions. So what? He ends the book by advising the reader to "just go back to the party and have fun". I feel that a well-informed reader probably should stay at the party from beginning to end, rather than waste her time in reading this vacuous book.

Who's in charge in there? *****
It's hard to resolve where the best place to encounter Chris Frith might be - a classroom, a pub, or a party. In this book, the last is set as a means of providing exchanges between a working cognitive neuroscientist and people from the humanities and other sciences - English and physics, in this case. Frith goes to some effort to show how many misconceptions about how the mind works still exist in our society. He wants to set those right, and does so splendidly in this book on the workings of the brain. With a style one might almost describe as jocular, Frith reveals how the brain deals with the world outside and within us. Frith had the good fortune to enter the field as the new, non-intrusive methods of brain imaging were emerging. Big, cumbersome and expensive, these tools, the PET, fMRI and CAT scanning devices soon came into more widespread use. These machines could map the living brain, while patients could be queried or given tests to assist in determining which brain areas were active at a given time. Frith describes these tools as moving brain studies from a "soft" science to a "hard" science in which detailed measurements could be made. Previously, it was either guess-work, or brains could be analysed only after a patient's death. What has emerged from these studies is a very serious challenge to what we call "reality" and our perception of it. The brain does many things without our realising it. Apart from the obvious ones like keeping the heart and lungs pumping, there is the issue of what we "see". We like to think that when we "look" at something or somebody, we are seeing a continuous image. That's simply not the case. Beyond the fact that the eye undergoes a rapid shifting motion called "saccading", it's also converting photons into electrical signals. The brain must interpret the incoming messages and make sense of them. When it finally sends a message to the frontal cortex, an "image" has been recorded and you are now in a position to react to it. The many vagaries in the operation of the brain in creating the mind, lead many in the humanities to scorn cognitive neuroscience. Frith uses his English professor as a foil to challenge the value of his work. "You can't pin down the mind like a specimen in a display case", he has her intone. But Frith's work and that of the many researchers he cites, demonstrates the fallacy of believing that we are in control of our minds. Vision is but one area where the brain must interpret input and build a result for you to understand. The brain has developed a number of tricks to help itself produce something meaningful from what the senses tell it. The chief resource in this mental technique is memory. From our earliest years, the brain has been recording and cataloguing various inputs to assist in the formation of what we think we perceive. A point that must be remembered through all this is that the catalog isn't something that the devices can pinpoint for us to analyse. Memory, though it has fairly well-defined pathways, is part of a very dynamic and elusive system. What it produces for our conscious use is highly arbitrary. The brain may serve up memory images almost as a whim. Very little of it is under our control, yet we continue to assert we are given "free will". Frith doesn't deny there's an element of will in how we think, but it's anything but "will" in an absolute sense. And we must be cautious about how free of constraints it is. Since the brain is faced with countless episodes of false information, such as optical illusions, those memories we depend upon as the foundation for decisions, "free will" comes close to being meaningless. For the person new to the ideas and research being done in how the brain works, this book is the ideal starting point. It's invaluable for the concepts it introduces and explains - so far as is known, and does so in a compelling manner. While he chides the English teacher on the one hand, he pays attention to her comments as a lever for introducing a topic needing further explanation. And his explanations, while challenging some long-held philosophical notions, demonstrate how much we've learned, yet still need to know about the brain. A fine gift for a student seeking a career path. What we learn about the brain tells us a great deal about who we are. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Who's in charge in there? *****

It's hard to resolve where the best place to encounter Chris Frith might be - a classroom, a pub, or a party. In this book, the last is set as a means of providing exchanges between a working cognitive neuroscientist and people from the humanities and other sciences - English and physics, in this case. Frith goes to some effort to show how many misconceptions about how the mind works still exist in our society. He wants to set those right, and does so splendidly in this book on the workings of the brain. With a style one might almost describe as jocular, Frith reveals how the brain deals with the world outside and within us.

Frith had the good fortune to enter the field as the new, non-intrusive methods of brain imaging were emerging. Big, cumbersome and expensive, these tools, the PET, fMRI and CAT scanning devices soon came into more widespread use. These machines could map the living brain, while patients could be queried or given tests to assist in determining which brain areas were active at a given time. Frith describes these tools as moving brain studies from a "soft" science to a "hard" science in which detailed measurements could be made. Previously, it was either guess-work, or brains could be analysed only after a patient's death.

What has emerged from these studies is a very serious challenge to what we call "reality" and our perception of it. The brain does many things without our realising it. Apart from the obvious ones like keeping the heart and lungs pumping, there is the issue of what we "see". We like to think that when we "look" at something or somebody, we are seeing a continuous image. That's simply not the case. Beyond the fact that the eye undergoes a rapid shifting motion called "saccading", it's also converting photons into electrical signals. The brain must interpret the incoming messages and make sense of them. When it finally sends a message to the frontal cortex, an "image" has been recorded and you are now in a position to react to it.

The many vagaries in the operation of the brain in creating the mind, lead many in the humanities to scorn cognitive neuroscience. Frith uses his English professor as a foil to challenge the value of his work. "You can't pin down the mind like a specimen in a display case", he has her intone. But Frith's work and that of the many researchers he cites, demonstrates the fallacy of believing that we are in control of our minds.

Vision is but one area where the brain must interpret input and build a result for you to understand. The brain has developed a number of tricks to help itself produce something meaningful from what the senses tell it. The chief resource in this mental technique is memory. From our earliest years, the brain has been recording and cataloguing various inputs to assist in the formation of what we think we perceive. A point that must be remembered through all this is that the catalog isn't something that the devices can pinpoint for us to analyse. Memory, though it has fairly well-defined pathways, is part of a very dynamic and elusive system. What it produces for our conscious use is highly arbitrary. The brain may serve up memory images almost as a whim. Very little of it is under our control, yet we continue to assert we are given "free will". Frith doesn't deny there's an element of will in how we think, but it's anything but "will" in an absolute sense. And we must be cautious about how free of constraints it is. Since the brain is faced with countless episodes of false information, such as optical illusions, those memories we depend upon as the foundation for decisions, "free will" comes close to being meaningless.

For the person new to the ideas and research being done in how the brain works, this book is the ideal starting point. It's invaluable for the concepts it introduces and explains - so far as is known, and does so in a compelling manner. While he chides the English teacher on the one hand, he pays attention to her comments as a lever for introducing a topic needing further explanation. And his explanations, while challenging some long-held philosophical notions, demonstrate how much we've learned, yet still need to know about the brain. A fine gift for a student seeking a career path. What we learn about the brain tells us a great deal about who we are. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Brilliant book on human mind and brain *****
This is a brilliant book on the human mind and brain, by a wise and influential researcher, who unusually is also a very charismatic and entertaining writer. It manages to be simultaneously serious/funny ; questioning/didactic; philosophical/scientific; and to be forward-looking yet while also giving a succinct historical overview of highlights from the past 30 years of research in neuropsychology and neuroscience, through to the latest breakthroughs in brain imaging. Essential reading for novices and experts alike.

Brilliant book on human mind and brain *****

This is a brilliant book on the human mind and brain, by a wise and influential researcher, who unusually is also a very charismatic and entertaining writer. It manages to be simultaneously serious/funny ;
questioning/didactic; philosophical/scientific; and to be forward-looking
yet while also giving a succinct historical overview of highlights from the past 30 years of research in neuropsychology and neuroscience, through to the latest breakthroughs in brain imaging. Essential reading for novices and experts alike.