Overview
What is consciousness?
Is there really such a thing as free will?
Is there a physiological basis for an eternal soul?
In What Makes You Tick?, Thomas Czerner's elegant and accessible introduction to brain research, you'll encounter the scientists and discoveries that have exponentially increased our knowledge of the brain and its functions, most significantly in the last few years. Here, Czerner has translated the arcane language of scientific journals into a highly readable Baedeker of the brain, outlining all that is known about the modern brain and the amazing promise this understanding holds for the future.
In addition to tracing the vast web of cerebral roadways, Czerner deftly follows the larger historical detective story that stars neurologists and their forebears, from philosophers Descartes and Kant, to twentieth-century polymaths Francis Crick and Edwin Land, to computer scientists, who have found that the brain's parallel circuitry offers an ideal design model for microprocessors.
By shining a light on the darkest recesses of our own minds, What Makes You Tick? illuminates the greatest gifts the world of science bestows, in addition to touching on the ethical dilemmas facing us as we begin to alter ourselves on the cellular level. Above all, What Makes You Tick? will forever change the way you think about thinking.
Synopsis
What is consciousness?
Is there really such a thing as free will?
Is there a physiological basis for an eternal soul?
In What Makes You Tick?, Thomas Czerner's elegant and accessible introduction to brain research, you'll encounter the scientists and discoveries that have exponentially increased our knowledge of the brain and its functions, most significantly in the last few years. Here, Czerner has translated the arcane language of scientific journals into a highly readable Baedeker of the brain, outlining all that is known about the modern brain and the amazing promise this understanding holds for the future.
In addition to tracing the vast web of cerebral roadways, Czerner deftly follows the larger historical detective story that stars neurologists and their forebears, from philosophers Descartes and Kant, to twentieth-century polymaths Francis Crick and Edwin Land, to computer scientists, who have found that the brain's parallel circuitry offers an ideal design model for microprocessors.
By shining a light on the darkest recesses of our own minds, What Makes You Tick? illuminates the greatest gifts the world of science bestows, in addition to touching on the ethical dilemmas facing us as we begin to alter ourselves on the cellular level. Above all, What Makes You Tick? will forever change the way you think about thinking.
Booknews
This introduction to brain research describes the current state of knowledge about the brain and its functions, with an emphasis on the discoveries of the last few years. Czerner (ophthalmology, University of California School of Medicine in San Francisco) translates the language of scientific journals into lay terms and describes the historical detective story plotting toward an understanding of the mind. Attention is also given to ethical dilemmas that emerge as our knowledge increases. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)