Elastic
When I read it
Early august 2021 (still going at the time of writing).
Why I picked it up
Sunday browsing at local Waterstones :-) I am getting interested in how exactly (or better, roughly) the brain machine works, mostly the physics part with regards to the network of communications inside the brain, what talks to what, and by which means (electochemical signal… but what are they). This book is generally about something else but, Mlodinow being Mlodinow, there are a few chapters on the topics which I find enlighting and greatly explained. See below.
Interesting bits
What is thought
The world inside your brain
Hierarchy of the brain
Cortex -> 2 Hemispheres -> 4 Lobes -> Frontal Lobe Only mammals have prefontal cortex Lateral prefrontal cortex is present only in Primates
Thinking when you are not thinking
Elastic thinking as reaction to change
Top-down thinking: analytical / deductive Bottom-up: synthetic / inductive Collective (automatic) thinking
Quotes
Inspiration & Next
This is a good companion to The Brain by David Eagleman, which is the first thing read about brain/physics/neuroscience. I was planning on reading further and look at Pinker - not convinced yet - probably “The language instict”.
With Mlodinow, The Drunkard Walk is on the horizon, but I first want to get more knowledgeable on the “fine tuning” idea. Also, his memoir of Steven Hawking is in the list.
Few mentions of Thomas Kuhn and his The Structure of Scientific Revolutions make me fancy to pick it up again. We’ll see.