"NeuroLogic" by Eliezer J. Steinberg, M.D. (2015)

"Our thoughts are not inert, not trapped in the vacuum of the mind.  Underlying each instant of imaginary exploration is a current of electrical information that trains and molds the neuronal cells that carry it."

Ok, this probably sounds weird, but I've read a Neurology textbook.  Back in graduate school I was introduced to a few features of brain chemistry (the only thing in graduate school I found interesting), and from there I progressed to a series of books with "neuro" in the title -  Neurophilosophy, Neurophysiology, and ultimately that textbook.

So NeuroLogic isn't exactly my first rodeo.  I may not be a trained neurologist, but I've done my best to stay abreast of current developments, and I would rate my understanding of brain function (much) higher than average.

In this respect I definitely fall outside the intended audience for this book.  It's aimed at the layman, and I was familiar with most of the topics covered.  Some of the material on subvocalizations and how they relate to schizophrenia was new to me, but the remainder was nothing I hadn't heard before.

Is NeuroLogic a good/interesting book?  I think I'm the wrong person to ask.  In my opinion it was all fairly obvious stuff, but as a guide to how the brain works you could do worse.  It's very readable, and includes many memorable anecdotes from the author's medical practice.  

Will it blow your mind?  Probably not, but then again our understanding of the brain is in the very early stages, and I'm sure there are some wonderful (if frightening) discoveries yet to come.

This book, by the way, calls bullshit on what author Yuval Noah Harari says about our "illusion of individuality."  If anything, this book points toward a strengthening of our sense of individuality, and a weakening of the schizophrenic tendencies in modern technology.  

It's every man (and woman) for themselves, you know.  It's all spelled out in our neurochemistry.

Related Entries:

"Make Way for the Super Humans" by Michael Bess (2015)
"Homo Deus" by Yuval Noah Harari (2015)
"Frozen Earth" by Doug Macdougall (2004)
"The Oceans" by Ellen J. Prager and Sylvia A. Earle (2000)